When news broke that Japan was planning to create an artificial meteor shower, in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, everyone assumed that might be the craziest thing. Presumably because said meteor shower would require launching a satellite into space, containing particles that would result in a shooting stars. While that sounds like tremendous effort on their part, it seems they aren’t quite done yet.

In light of the sudden interest in ninjas, following the announcement of the Olympics being held in Tokyo, Mie University has decided to expand on this—with a research unit dedicated to their rich history! Yuji Yamada, one of Mie University’s professors said that the University plans to compile a database of ninja and encourage cooperation between scholars from different disciplines who study ninja. Researchers at the centre will be able to study ancient documents and help develop ways to implement ninja wisdom to modern society. (Sorry, if we disappointed those who thought they were going to be throwing shurikens, while attempting parkour, when they signed up for this course.)

The course will be set up in July, this year, at a facility located in Iga, a city that was once associated with ninja warriors. All research will be published in Japanese and English, so as to welcome all those who are interested. Hopefully, this facility manages to succeed with their goal of incorporating ‘ninjutsu’ and other trade secrets into our lives today. If not, it’d still seem like pretty research.