DPJ to Stop Funding 'Anime Hall of Fame' if Elected

In what comes as a blow to all otaku and those with an appreciation for otaku-esque things, the DPJ's Hirohisa Fujii has stated that he plans to cancel future funding for a media arts center. It is often referred to as the "Anime Hall of Fame", and was established with the intention of being a base for promoting Japanese pop culture internationally.

This measure is fairly reasonable, as Japan has been mired in recession and the DPJ wishes to redirect the funds toward unemployment measures and medical care.

http://mainichi.jp/select/seiji/news/20090826k0000m010079000c.html [jp]

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20090826p2a00m0na006000c.html [en]

Anime Keyboard

Tony Taka and Carnelian have lent their dojinshi talents to developing beautiful keyboards. They have teamed up with E-Junex to give every anime fan exactly what they didn't know they wanted. They are a little pricy, but for the hardcore, it is a moderate price to pay.

If you can read Japanese, check out this page for more information: https://www.etsu.jp/etsu_shop/200906/.

If you can't, then check this one out: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10314495-1.html

Politicians Drop Off The Grid

It's election season in Japan, and for its numerous politicians this means riding in noisy trucks, and no more internet. As of Tuesday, all Japanese politicians were mandated by law to cease and desist all blogging, twittering, and internet updates otherwise. The Asahi Tribune has written up an article that addresses the myriad reasons why this is a genuinely terrible idea here. The internet and its myriad means of communication are not specifically targeted by the legislation, but there are general "restrictions on the use of images and literature". It is clear how this general law naturally extends to the internet.

This 59 year old pre-internet law is beginning to show its age. Originally, the purpose of the legislation was to ensure that individials with greater fiscal resources would compete equally and fairly against those with less. In a world where the internet allows free and equivalent communication by all, this particular law, though well intentioned, has fallen into obsolescence.

Furthermore, it is a disservice to young voters that have been immersed in internet technologies all their lives. For those that are used to receiving their information via the internet medium, they are clearly being dissuaded from participating in the national discussion. Hopefully, this law will be amended to allow polticians the use of the most equitable medium we have today - the internet.

FMI: http://www.itworld.com/legal/74834/day-blogging-stopped

秋葉の神 - The God of Akiba

On April 26, a group of Akiba maids participated in a Matsuri to "drive away the economic downturn" [1]. The shrine itself, named "Akiba Mikoshi", deserves note, as it was not filled with the souls of ancient revered gods. Rather, it was filled with the trinkets of otaku culture: manga, figures, computers, and televisions - there was even a solar powered Gundam.

Fortunately, news outlets were on the scene to record this slightly unbelievable event.

aki ba
Uploaded by gariisenab

World Cosplay Summit 2009

Apparently Japan had never won the World Cosplay Summit before this year [1]. Congratulations to the winners YuRi and RiE, who won with a Sengoku Basara (戦国ＢＡＳＡＲＡ, or Devil Kings) cosplay.

The above picture is of special guest performers SKE48, an offshoot of the band AKB48. SKE48 is based in SaKaE in Nagoya, whereas AKB48 is based in AKihaBara. Both bands are incredibly cute.

Video of both bands is below - Who do you like better?

SKE:

AKB:

More pictures from the Cosplay Summit can be found here.

Welcome! ようこそ！

In this blog I'll talk about the various things that I find interesting about Japanese culture. Whether it is an article about cooking, international relations, a cute product, or even just a funny video - it will have a place on this blog.

よろしくお願いします！