japanamerica

via Kyodo : 91 anime producers bail on Ishihara's "Tokyo Anime Fair" in protest of Bill 156, an estimated lost of 110 trillion yen. Alternate event, "Anime Contents Expo," to be staged in Chiba on the same dates, hosted by Kadokawa, Animate, others. 'Go East, young people.' Chiba, here we come.

My latest column on (near-constant) travel, virtual vs. geographical, tracks treks through NYC, LA, Sydney, Canberra, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, lovely Penang, via the Internet and International Dateline, in newest 2011 issue of Paper Sky magazine:

SOFT POWER HARD TRUTHS / 2011 is now-or-never time for Japan's pop culture biz Roland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Rebellion and dissent are not usually associated with conflict-averse Japan, where wa, or group harmony, is king. But the stakes in the battle of the anime industry versu s the Tokyo metropolitan government over Bill 156 have risen conspicuously over the past few weeks, and cooler heads are hard to find. Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's successful passage last month of legislation targeting manga, anime and video games for vaguely defined "morally offensive" image ry has been recorded in this column, as has the strikingly vehement opposition to the bill on behalf of artists, publishers, producers, translators and fans, many of whom question Ishihara's motives. The bill does nothing to address the production or possession of live-action depictions of rape or child pornography. After failing to pass it last summer, Ishihara and his ilk rushed the...

Talking 'soshoku danshi' (herbivore/grass-eating boys), young men who can do without sex --and just about anything else one might find stimulating or competitive -- thankyouverymuch, with my dear friend Madeleine Brand on "The Madeleine Brand Show" here .

January 2011

CU

Master director, animator and artist Hayao Miyazaki turns 70 today. Here's a clip of our onstage conversation at UC Berkeley. O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu / Happy Birthday, Miyazaki-san.