DJ Rinoka is a celebrated techno artist at just 9 years old, holding the title of the world's youngest DJ, listed in the Guinness World Records when she was just 6. Most kids her age are thinking about school and cartoons. Rinoka is thinking about the next gig.
Her path into music started at age 4, after she discovered Belgian DJ Amelie Lens and Russian DJ Nina Kraviz on YouTube. Immediately hooked, she asked for a Pioneer DDJ-200 machine for Christmas. Santa delivered. She never looked back.
On July 9, 2023, she performed her very first solo DJ gig in Tokyo at just 6 years and 155 days old, playing to a packed dancefloor for more than an hour. That show earned her the title of the world's youngest female club DJ. Her set actually ran closer to 70 minutes.
Featured as a Young Achiever in the Guinness World Records 2025 book, Rinoka holds not one but two records for her DJing skills. The second came on January 21, 2024, when she performed at Neon Oasis '24 in Taipei City, Taiwan, becoming the youngest female DJ to perform at a music festival.
"I like a cool, fast, intense style," she told the Associated Press, speaking in a recent interview while wearing a cap bearing her own logo. That style lands squarely in techno territory. Techno has roots in American cities like Detroit, built on electronic instruments, with genres that include the intense, hypnotic acid house that Rinoka favors.
"It's fun when people get excited at the live performances," she told the Associated Press recently. That crowd energy is something she now chases regularly. Her schedule is packed, with performances at Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants baseball games and appearances alongside much older DJs at events. Most recently, she performed at Tokyo Dome before a Yomiuri Giants game on May 24, 2026.
Rinoka does not use her surname publicly, and her parents prefer to stay anonymous, hoping to maintain as normal a childhood as possible for their only child. She takes hip-hop dance lessons, enjoys crafting things from paper and aluminum foil, and still has schoolwork to manage.
Off the stage, she has other distinctly kid-like passions, including a pet gecko and a stuffed animal collection featuring a toy dog named Korochan that travels with her everywhere, including to performances.
When the conversation turns philosophical, Rinoka offers a simple take: "The music will continue." Asked to choose between a DJ career and a life caring for many geckos, "The geckos," she exclaimed. "They are so cute."
Her biggest dream, she says, is going on tour and playing at music festivals all over the world. Given the trajectory so far, that future does not seem far off at all.
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