Kadokawa’s Comic Walker Global: now available for manga from China, Taiwan, Singapore
May 12, 2015
/William
Publisher Kadokawa opened the beta version of Comic Walker Global on April 27th to be a platform for promoting the work of overseas manga artists.
Comic Walker already launched in 2014 as Japan's ...
Write More is a new type of writing instrument developed by Hakuhodo to help young kids write.
It works with an dedicated aim and iPhone to create enhanced "writing" sounds that encourage the ...
E-Sakuga has released a next-generation e-book that serves as a neat example of anime tie-in merchandise and also an interesting idea for how anime and digital publishing can intersect ...
The Japanese are an overworked lot.
This is why you can see them always trying to grab forty winks on the train.
And it's why you get such a fantastic array of sleeping products.
The spring ...
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado Figuarts Zero Figure
Popular manga and anime character
Pity Saitama.
A prefecture so unoriginal that it shares its name with its capital city.
A prefecture confined in the popular consciousness to being an extended suburb of Tokyo.
A prefecture ...
Get ready for what tech fans have been waiting their whole lives for: a robot wedding.
The "Robo-kon" marriage ceremony event is being produced Maywa Denki, the cult makers of nonsense machines ...
Yaoi goes mainstream? “Katana-danshi” photo book showcases samurai sword boys
April 30, 2015
/William
If you like Japanese swords and Japanese boys, then this is the book for you.
Katana-danshi is an unusual new photo book set for release on June 10th.
Its title means "sword boys" and ...
A new magazine has been launched dedicated to former performers with the all-female Takarazuka Revue.
The Second Stage was released this week and examines the lives of ex-Takarazuka stars, now in ...
Clinique Pop lipstick launched with regram digital campaign, photo booth
April 28, 2015
/William
To launch a new lipstick Clinique Pop, New York-based cosmetics brand Clinique has created a digital campaign and pop-up store event at a Roppongi Hills cafe.
The #ootd_WITH CLINIQUE iPhone ...
Last weekend Roppongi Art Night 2015 took over the Roppongi area for a night of art and
The events, performances and installations stretched out from sundown on April 25 to sunrise on ...
Halls Delivery Bear Service sends polar bear to “heal” stressed Japanese women
April 24, 2015
/William
Last year there was a lot of buzz about a strange thing that happened in Shibuya. A Russian-looking woman was apparently leading a live polar bear through the crowds of Center Gai and then across ...
Toilet paper promotes awareness of Japan’s semi-legal “danger drugs”
April 22, 2015
/William
One of the big social issues last year was the rising usage of semi-legal drugs (dappo), what the police call "dangerous drugs" (kikken duraggu). Due to legal loopholes users did not face arrest for ...
Koakuma Ageha magazine celebrates relaunch with Omotesando Hills pop-up shop
April 21, 2015
/William
When "hostess bible" Koakuma Ageha closed down last year, it seemed like the end of an era for Japanese fashion magazines.
But then it relaunched under new management and the status quo was ...
Kirin enters craft beer market with Spring Valley Brewery in Daikanyama
April 17, 2015
/William
Kirin has cemented its entry into the craft beer market with the opening on April 17th of Spring Valley Brewery, a brewpub in Daikanyama. Another SVB brewpub has opened in Yokohama.
The name ...
Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo hires Aiko Chihira, an android guide
April 16, 2015
/William
Meet Aiko Chihira. She speaks Japanese and wears a kimono. She greets customers and conveys information.
But Aiko's not Japanese. She's not even human.
She's an android made by Toshiba and now ...