We have weekend news as Abel Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, and apparently known personally to half of Japan's gaming industry, has been making the most of his time in the country. Tokyo Marui, the Adachi-based airsoft manufacturer and a cornerstone of the global replica firearms market, shared photographs on Twitter/X showing the Canadian singer-songwriter touring their headquarters and getting up close with their ongoing line of Resident Evil-themed airsoft guns.

The visit makes sense once you know the man's taste in franchises. Tesfaye has been open about his affection for Resident Evil, and Tokyo Marui has spent years building one of the more involved partnerships in the airsoft world through its collaboration with CAPCOM, the Osaka-based publisher behind the series. That partnership has produced replicas including the SG-09 R — a gas blowback pistol modelled after Leon S. Kennedy's sidearm in the Resident Evil 4 remake, and the Samurai Edge series, which features aluminium alloy frames, steel slides, and in-game lore engravings that tend to appeal to franchise enthusiasts who consider "attention to detail" a personality trait.

This is not Tesfaye's first pilgrimage to Japanese gaming royalty. Back in February, Sega's official Japanese account posted photographs of his visit to their Tokyo headquarters, drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson's own trip to Sega HQ in 1992, which is either a flattering precedent or a very high bar, depending on your perspective. He also visited CAPCOM's HQ playing Requiem. With The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn tour kicking off its Asian leg on September 20 at Belluna Dome in Tokyo, he has plenty of reason to be in Japan right now, and he is clearly not wasting the downtime.