Thank you, Sweden!
Introducing MONKEY BUSINESS: New Voices from Japan, thanks to Peter MacMillan, Ambassador Lars Vargo and the embassy staff. With founding editor/translator and dear friend, Motoyuki Shibata.
Posts
JP "Tomorrow" on NHK BS-1, Wed. 7/9, 2 p.m.
The Japanese-language edition of "Tomorrow," the doc I host on volunteers in tsunami-damaged towns, is on NHK BS-1 in Japan today (Wed) at 2 p.m.
Hosting NHK's "Tomorrow", about post-tsunami recovery
At the following times, streaming here: NHK WORLD TV Mon. 01:30, 07:30, 13:30, 19:30 (UTC) NHK WORLD Premium Wed. of next week 17:00 (UTC) NHK BS1 (Japanese language only) Wed. 14:00 (JST) Sun. 04:00 (JST)
Talkin' Anime Expo 2014 for NPR, Los Angeles
My conversation with animation critic/author Charles Solomon on Anime Expo 2014 & Project Anime in Los Angeles, on NPR/KPCC .
Off to Los Angeles for Project Anime keynote @ Anime Expo
Roland Kelts to give Keynote Presentation at Project Anime: Los Angeles 2014 Project Anime is proud to announce Japanamerica author Roland Kelts as a Keynote Speaker for Project Anime: Los Angeles 2014. Roland Kelts is a half-Japanese writer, editor, scholar and cultural expert. He is the author of the bestselling Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the U.S. , and the forthcoming novel, Access . His writing on contemporary Japanese culture, art and literature is published in Japanese and English in publications such as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek Japan, Adbusters, The Japan Times, the BBC, NPR and CNN . In his Keynote Speech, “Re-Opening Japan,” Kelts assays the specific trans-cultural reasons behind the misunderstandings and sometimes unintended insults that occur when non-Japanese try to work, collaborate and make deals with Japanese creatives.
On the "Summer of Kawaii" 2014, for The Japan Times
Forget Cool Japan — cute is this summer’s hot global export BY ROLAND KELTS Summer is high season for fans of Japanese pop culture. School’s out, weather’s amenable and festivals, conventions and expos shift into top gear in Japan and across the globe. Many in the pop-culture business are branding summer 2014 “the summer of kawaii” (Japanese uber-cute), and it’s not hard to see why. To inaugurate the season, Japan’s digital diva and holographic pop star Hatsune Miku, cute as her turquoise pigtails, hit the road in late May as the opening act for the first leg of megastar Lady Gaga’s North American tour. Miku’s makers plan to reprise her supporting role when Gaga tours Japan in August. This echoes animated band Gorillaz’s collaboration with Madonna at the 2006 Grammies — beautiful illustrations and flesh-and-blood pop icons share the stage. Expect more.