How would you like to take a course on anime in a college or vocational school? That’s one of the many ideas being pushed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a section of the Japanese government. Right now Japanese content (which includes anime, manga, movies, …Read more »
On April 2 President Trump imposed tariffs on goods coming into America, including a 24% tariff on Japanese goods. Things coming in from other countries will have a baseline of 10%, but countries President Trump called the “worst offenders” — including Japan — have much …Read more »
Hatsune Miku has teamed up with a lot of companies and groups, so why not team up with McDonald’s, the restaurant chain that keeps showing its love for otaku interests? A few days ago, McDonald’s Japan shared an image on social media that was clearly …Read more »
Haruna Kojima, who was a member of the massive idol group AKB48 from 2005 to 2017, recently had some drama unfold while she was stumping for her new photo album, Kamoshirenai. She had a launch event at the Shibuya Tsutaya building in Tokyo, and that …Read more »
With a new album release and anime debut on the horizon, Japan’s leading virtual artist, KAF has been plenty busy lately. Debuting in 2018, KAF’s digital avatar is anime-inspired but her smooth vocals and emotional lyrics are real. Forging a path for virtual singers, the …Read more »
YOASOBI, which just performed at Coachella — as well as the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles and The Warfield in San Francisco — has announced more concerts, this time in New York City and Boston. Before they get to those two metropolises, …Read more »
GLAY is a major Japanese rock band, and 2024 marks a major milestone for them: 30 years since their major debut in 1994. As a result, GLAY is offering its GLAY EXPO this year. A big event like this needs a visual image to go …Read more »
The year is almost over, so Google has released its global top-trending searches of 2023, and we can see plenty of otaku have been looking things up. For instance, the fourth most Googled TV show of 2023 was One Piece, probably due to the Netflix …Read more »
A social media lifestyle app in Japan known as Gravity conducted a survey with women ages 20-39, asking them what they spend their money on for fun. There are plenty of necessities out there that paychecks go to—rent, groceries and bills, to name a few—but …Read more »
Sometimes people get crushes on fictional characters, like ones from anime and manga. More rarely, sometimes people get unofficial marriages with these characters. Akihiko Kondo, a man who unofficially married Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, has created a group called Association of Fictosexuality. It is a place …Read more »
At this point there are so many sexual abuse allegations against Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of talent agency Johnny & Associates, that it’s reached the highest levels of Japan. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is the head of the Japanese government, has declared he’s holding …Read more »
Just days after anime and video game composer Hidekazu Tanaka was found guilty of indecent acts, another big name in Japanese pop culture is dealing with a fallout over sexual assault accusations. This time around it has to do with Johnny Kitagawa, who was the …Read more »
MAN WITH A MISSION and milet are behind the opening and just-announced ending theme songs for the new season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and MAN WITH A MISSION guitarist, vocalist and rapper Jean-Ken Johnny is keen to talk about it. The opening song …Read more »
You cannot escape Hatsune Miku. Ever feel like you see Hatsune Miku everywhere? Don’t worry, it’s not just you. Miku is, in fact, just about everywhere. Besides the countless collabs the virtual sweetheart has under her belt, Miku’s 2023 is off to a busy start. …Read more »
Ever wonder which anime songs are the most popular in Japan? Every Wednesday, Billboard Japan updates their Hot 100 list, to include the most popular J-Pop and anime theme songs of the week. This time, we are treated to an extensive list filled with artists …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Brianna Fox-Priest
