Japan's DJ Rinoka bobs to the beat as a child prodigy techno artist

TOKYO (AP) — Never mind she isn’t old enough to get into a club.

Japanese DJ Rinoka still is a celebrated techno artist at just 9 years old. And she's the world's youngest DJ, listed as such in Guinness when she was 6.

“It’s fun when people get excited at the live performances,” she told The Associated Press recently.

She decided to become a DJ after seeing Amelie Lens and Nina Kraviz on YouTube when she was 4. She thought they were so cool she asked for a Pioneer DDJ-200 machine for Christmas.

“I like a cool, fast, intense style,” she said in the interview, while wearing a cap with her own logo.

DJ Rinoka has other typically childlike interests like her pet gecko and a stuffed animal collection, including a toy dog called Korochan that accompanies her everywhere, including on stage. The gecko stays at home.

DJ Rinoka has a busy schedule, performing at Tokyo’s professional baseball team Yomiuri Giants’ games and appearing with much older DJs at events.

It’s with a total and delightful conviction that she gets the groove going, pushing and turning buttons, as she bobs her body.

DJ Rinoka doesn't use her surname publicly, and her parents wish to remain anonymous to maintain as normal a childhood as possible for their only child.

She takes hip-hop dance lessons and enjoys crafting things out of paper and aluminum foil. She also has schoolwork.

Techno has roots in American cities like Detroit and heavily uses electronic instruments, like the now-coveted Roland machines. Its genres include the intense, hypnotic acid house that Rinoka likes.

Just about all of it has a heavy pounding beat, or kick, that makes you want to dance away your troubles.

The music has evolved and spread, and its top DJs now create music for club-goers to dance to around the world.

It's so universal, it's loved and understood by a young Japanese girl.

“The music will continue,” DJ Rinoka says thoughtfully.

But she doesn’t have to think too hard when asked which she would choose: being a DJ or a caretaker for a lot of geckos.

“The geckos,” she exclaimed. “They are so cute.”

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Nine-year-old DJ Rinoka performs at Tokyo Dome after the third inning of a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on May 24, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Nine-year-old DJ Rinoka, left, performs at Tokyo Dome before a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on May 24, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Nine-year-old DJ Rinoka performs at Tokyo Dome before a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on May 24, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Nine-year-old DJ Rinoka performs at Tokyo Dome before a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on May 24, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Nine-year-old DJ Rinoka performs at Tokyo Dome before a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on May 24, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A Norwegian court will hand down its verdict and sentence Monday in the rape trial of Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, concluding a case that has gripped Norway and is widely expected to result in a prison sentence regardless of the outcome of the most serious charges.

Høiby, 29, faces 40 criminal charges, including four counts of rape and allegations involving violence, threats and abuse.

Prosecutors have asked Oslo District Court to sentence him to seven years and seven months in prison, while defense lawyers have argued that he should be acquitted of the rape allegations and receive no more than 18 months for offenses he has admitted to.

The six-week trial concluded in March after testimony from multiple accusers and presentation of evidence, including messages, images and videos from Høiby’s cellphone. The rape charges involve four different women between 2018 and 2024. In each case, the women are alleged to have been sleeping or heavily incapacitated.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-656-4673 for the national sexual assault hotline in the U.S. or +47 800 57 000 for the helpline for victims of sexual abuse in Norway.

Høiby has denied the rape accusations and disputed key elements of several other allegations. He has admitted to some lesser offenses, including drug-related crimes, traffic violations and breaches of a restraining order.

The case has generated intense international attention because of Høiby’s connection to the royal family. Although he holds no royal title and has no official duties, he's the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to Norway’s throne, and he grew up in the household with the future king.

Interest has intensified in recent days as Mette-Marit’s health has deteriorated. The crown princess, who has pulmonary fibrosis and is awaiting a lung transplant, has been at the center of legal arguments over whether her son should be granted temporary release from custody before the verdict. Appeals courts ruled that Høiby should remain detained while awaiting judgment.

The trial has also unfolded amid renewed scrutiny of the royal family following disclosures about Mette-Marit’s past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender. She has publicly apologized for the association and said she exercised poor judgment in maintaining contact with him. She isn't accused of any wrongdoing.

Defense lawyers Ellen Holager Andenæs, left, and Petar Sekulic arrive at Ila Prison where Marius Borg Høiby is being held in custody, in Oslo Monday, June 15, 2026. (Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Administrator, Jon Sverdrup Efjestad in court during the sentencing in the case against Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo Monday, June 15, 2026. (Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB Scanpix via AP)

John Christian Elden, left, and Ellen Holager Andenæs in court before the verdict in the case against Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo Monday, June 15, 2026. (Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby on his way to a meeting with his lawyer in Oslo, Norway, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Heiko Junge/NTB Scanpix via AP)

FILE - Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)