His private visits to the Yasukuni shrine provokes the ire of many Asian countries. Why does Prime Minister Koizumi visit the Yasukuni shrine? I didn’t know. As it so happened, I had moved to Shinjuki and was living within walking distance of the shrine. So, one April morning, I made my way there to find out.
In my mind’s eye, I had thought the shrine itself would be larger and more imposing than it was. I was struck by its simplicity. I had double checked with one of the security guards …

If you have never been to the Tokyo Game Show, you are missing out on some awesome cosplay…there is a space between the exhibit halls that is called “Cosplay Alley” and Kotaku.com has a great set of pictures from this year’s alley scene…

We think Day 2 the cosplayers were really in full throttle mode as their costumes rocked…Do you agree?

Photos of Ikebana at the 2009 Japan Fest in Atlanta last weekend. More great photos and videos to come of the event so stay tuned.

Kyoto’s first class chef Murata Yoshihiro, head of Kikunoi talks about “Manga and Kyoto Cuisine”, according to the world of “Aji ichibanme,” a cooking manga by Kurata Yoshimi. After the talk show spectators will receive a free Kikunoi special bento (lunch box).

Within the first 6 days of Hatoyama’s appointment as Prime Minister of Japan he addressed the United Nations Summit on Climate Change. His words are those of cooperation and leadership in the fight on Climate Change and curbing CO2 emissions. Click on the link below for the full speech.
Prime Minister Hatoyama’s statement at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change.

Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara is racking up the frequent flier miles this year. Exactly six months to the day after piloting Japan to its second consecutive World Baseball Classic title, Hara was once again airborne doage-style, getting tossed aloft by his Giants players at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday after their 5-3 victory over the second-place Chunichi Dragons clinched the Central League pennant for Yomiuri.

A sculpture of Phoenix appeared in Kyoto International Manga Museum on September 22nd.

This Phoenix is from the manga series of the same name written by Osamu Tezuka.

The statue is made by the same sculptors that have sculpted Buddha in Japan. And it’s big! The Phoenix has a width of 11 meters and a height of 4.5 meters. That’s more than 35 feet wide and almost 15 feet tall.

This October 3rd in 2009 is Ju-goya (Full moon night). It is the day for Tsukimi. Tsukimi means watching the moon. People enjoy watching the moon and the feeling it gives in the autumn nights.

This custom originally came from China, but has changed a little in Japan. Compared with Chinese Tsukimi, which is a big annual event, Japanese Tsukimi mainly is a day to enjoy watching the moon and just soaking in autumn.

Police have ruled out suicide in the death of the creator of the Shin-chan series having reviewed the last photos taken by the creator moments before his death. It appears he was trying to take a precarious photo of the cliff from which he fell. They added there was no sign of a suicide note.

It’s a sad time for many manga fans and especially the family of the famed creator of Crayon Shin-Chan, Yoshito Usui.

The TV animation “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” is based on the Light Novel (a category of Japanese subculture novels) written by Nagaru Tanigawa.
Not only the song, but also the story, I think is very attractive. It is about daily life, but with a little bit of Sci-Fi. It’s the story of a girl, Haruhi Suzumiya, and her friends at high school. Its episodes are not in chronological order, so you don’t know everything until you finish the last one.
There is no doubt in mind that you will …