The “Youth Nurturing and Protection Ordinance,” is a proposal to essentially censor images of “childlike” characters in media. It is set to enter committee on March 18th. Should the bill move through it will be placed before the Diet for a vote on March 30th, and will be taking effect as early as October.

The effect on mass media in Japan would be astounding.

Kirsten Dunst is eating up Akihabara in a new video which covers the Vapor’s “Turning Japanese.”

Pictures of her were taken a few months back in cosplay and “Akihabara Majokko Princess” must be the final result. The famous Japanese artist Takashi Murakami produced the video.

Vocaloid Hatsune Miku dances and sings to “Ren’ai Circulation,” a song by Kana Hanazawa.

Sakura-Con is going to be bigger and better than ever this year!
With Appearances by:

Tsuyoshi Nonaka is a Mechanical designer known for his work on D.I.C.E. (TV) and Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen. This will be Nonaka-San’s first Sakura-Con.

Yasuhiro Imagawa has directed several unconventional updates of classic Japanese robot stories, such as Giant Robo, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and most recently, Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen. He also wrote scrips for Pet Shop of Horrors, Violinist of Hamelin, Beserk and Harelya II Boy. This is Imagawa-San’s first Sakura-Con.

Yutaka Minowa is …

Three female “ambassadors of cute” were appointed by the Foreign Ministry last year to spread the word of “kawii” aboard.
Many youth around the world are fascinated with anime and “cosplay,” or the hobby of dressing up in costumes based on their favorite characters. So, inspired by the characters in Japan’s distinctive “anime” films and “manga”, one of the new ambassadors dresses as a schoolgirl(Shizuka Fujioka) and another as a Victorian doll(Misako Aoki) in voluminous frilly skirts. The remaining of the trio is a very fashionable singer(Yu Kimura) that would …

At 14-years old Beckii’s popularity in Japan rocketed after her YouTube videos were picked up by the popular Japanese website Niko Niko Douga. Her Japanese DVD debut, This is Beckii Cruel: Too Cute to be Real, was released last November and debuted at number eight on Japan’s DVD charts.

Currently the museum is exhibiting “She Draws Comics: 100 Years of American Women Cartoonists” with Wednesday the 27th of January being a special open day for the museum with the opening of the Kyoto Seika University Graduation Exhibition. Student works will be on display. Also, from Wednesday the 27th to Sunday the 31st of January during the Kyoto Seika University Graduation Exhibition admission to the museum will be free.

Their stocks are plunging and they are preparing to file for bankruptcy, but that’s not stopping the struggling Japan Airlines (JAL) from offering travelers the opportunity to fly with Doraemon, the beloved cartoon robo-cat.

According to a press release on the company website, JAL will begin operating the “Doraemon Jet” — a Boeing 777-300 decorated with large colorful images of Doraemon characters…

Loaded with Yamaha’s Vocaloid singing voice synthesizer software, the HRP-4C female fashion model/humanoid robot can now give her animated counterparts a go for their money.

The HRP-4C robot was developed by AIST. The anime-faced humanoid with slightly oversized eyes, a tiny nose and shoulder length hair boasts 42 motion motors programmed to mimic the movements of flesh-and-blood fashion models.

Imagi Animation Studios, which made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, have made a new CGI animation featuring Astro Boy, the famous manga character created by the god of manga, Osamu Tezuka. The studio announced the project in September 2006 and the film is directed by David Bowers. Freddie Highmore provides the voice for the character of Astro Boy in the movie. The film also features the voices of Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland and Nicolas Cage.