Hideo Kojima, the well-known video game director, recently shared a surprising ability in an article for the Japanese magazine ‘An An Web’ – an incredibly sensitive sense of smell.
Hideo Kojima’s essay on the subject of smells, originally written on December 6, 2025, is rapidly gaining popularity online three months after its release.
The essay explored the idea of a director’s unique creative identity, using the author, Kojima, as an example. He discussed his experience hosting a live broadcast of his radio program, ‘KOJI10.’
The team celebrated the Season 2 finale of their show at a trendy cafe. Kojima was upset he didn’t have any gifts for the fans, so in a spontaneous moment, he tore off his shirt and tossed it into the crowd.
He remembered that the moment the broadcast ended, he immediately ripped off his T-shirt and tossed it to the crowd. It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to act like a rock star, he explained – it was just a natural, reflexive reaction.
I tossed the T-shirt gently into the crowd, and a fan in the front row caught it. She instantly held it to her face, took a deep breath, and quietly said, ‘It smells amazing!’
A video of Kojima throwing his shirt into the crowd became a huge hit on Japanese social media, and fans immediately started trying to guess what cologne he was wearing. He intentionally didn’t reveal the fragrance, but hinted that the answer could be found in his recent essay.
Kojima’s strong sense of smell can make him sick
Surprisingly, that’s not the most unusual thing he’s written for AnAn Web. He also mentioned having an exceptionally strong sense of smell, and specifically named the condition ‘hyperosmia.’ It’s worth noting that a translation of his original Japanese essay used the term ‘hyperolemia,’ which isn’t a real medical condition.
He explained that his sense of smell is much stronger than average. While he’s never received a medical diagnosis for an unusually sensitive sense of smell, he sometimes feels unwell due to certain odors.
I used to get nauseous as a kid from the smell of perfume and makeup when parents visited school, and I still do today. Now, at work, I can often tell who recently used the elevator just by the scent they left behind.
Hyperosmia means having a much stronger sense of smell than usual. It’s uncommon, affecting only about 2% of people with normal health, and is frequently seen in pregnant individuals or those who get migraines.
Hyperosmia is a relatively mysterious condition, but it appears across a wide age range, from 11 to 70 years old. It’s most commonly first noticed in people during their twenties.
Kojima isn’t certain if he has a specific sensitivity, but he chooses to wear lightly scented fragrances because his sense of smell is very strong.
The director of Metal Gear recently shared new details after previously mentioning a desire to develop a game specifically designed to help artificial intelligence learn and improve its capabilities.
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2026-03-26 02:19