Anime ~ Manga ~ J-Music and all Japan related | Jap-Pon

Man thought to have died in fire 11 years ago found dead in Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:59:00 +0000

melody. plans to retire in January

A man who believed to have died in a fire in Komaki 11 years ago has turned up dead in Tokyo, sparking a police investigation into the identity of the first victim.

At the time of the fire, a family member identified the victim without realizing that it was someone else, police said.

The fire occurred at a construction company dormitory in Komaki in the predawn hours of April 3, 1998. A male worker suffered burns over his whole body and died about 20 days later. A discarded cigarette was found to have caused the fire.

Police investigators said that up until the man died, he was in hospital, with his face wrapped in bandages, but was able to talk.

However, Komaki Police Station, which received an explanation from the construction company, named someone else as the victim. A family member who lived in the Tohoku region met the victim and testified that he was an elder brother.

But the situation changed when the man who was named dead in the fire turned up dead in his home in Tokyo's Ota-ku at the beginning of this month.

The discovery sparked a renewed police investigation into the identity of the first victim.

The resume that the man who died in Komaki had submitted to the construction company reportedly listed the name and date of birth of the man who died in Tokyo.

Prefectural police said there was a high possibility that the worker had been using the name of the man who died in Tokyo.

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Technorati tags: Japan News

Japan teens skipping breakfast have sex younger

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:30:00 +0000

There is connection between breakfast and sex?

Teens who skip breakfast as middle school students tend to have sex at an earlier age than those who start the day with a proper meal, a government-backed Japanese medical researcher said on Friday.

The link between breakfast and sex probably lies in the teens' family life, said Kunio Kitamura, executive director of the Japan Family Planning Association, who conducted the survey.

The survey examined sexual experiences as well as family relationships and lifestyle habits of Japanese females and males aged 16 to 49. It was carried out in September and was based on about 1,500 people.

The average age of first-time sex for those who said they ate breakfast every day as a middle school student was 19.4, while for those who skipped breakfast, the average age was 17.5.

"The fact that people can't eat breakfast may show something about their family environment," said Kitamura. "Before blaming individuals for having sex at an early age, it may be necessary to look into the sort of homes they are from."

The survey, intended to study how to reduce unwanted pregnancies, also showed the average age of first-time sex was lower for those who found their mother annoying.

People who said they disliked their mother had sex for the first time at the average age of 16, while the average age for those who appreciated their mother was 19, Kitamura said.

via: Reuters

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Ayaka is Daniel Powter's surprise guest

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:26:00 +0000

Singer Ayaka on Wednesday joined in a concert of Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter in Harajuku as a surprise guest.

In the concert for 300 specially invited fans at Astro Hall, Ayaka appeared on stage and sang Bad Day and other songs with Powter.

Ayaka said afterwards: "Our countries are different. But I felt very comfortable singing with him because he’s something like my brother."

Powter added, "Ayaka is a very talented artist. I’m happy to perform with her and I wish we would have some singing sessions again."

Source: Tokyograph

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Man bras take Japan by storm

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:03:00 +0000

Apparently men all over Japan are getting literally into bras as the man-bra takes the country by storm.

A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they've quickly become one of its most popular items.

Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men's bras for 2,800 yen ($30) each.

The shop also sells men's panties, as well as lingerie for women.

"I like this tight feeling. It feels good," Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters as he modeled the bra, which can be worn discreetly under men's clothing.

Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman.

"I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying 'wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time'," she said.

But the bra, available in black, pink and white, is not an easy sell for all men.

The underwear has stirred a heated debate online with more than 8,000 people debating the merits of men wearing bras in one night on Mixi, Japan's top social network website.

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Technorati tags: Japan news weird news

Dattebayo to stop fansubbing Naruto

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:45:00 +0000

Dattebayo fansub group has announced that they will permanently stop subtitling and distributing Naruto on January 15.

That date is when the Naruto.com, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Joost websites will officially begin streaming the latest episodes of the Naruto Shippūden series one week after their Japanese broadcast — for free.

"Interactii," an alias from Dattebayo organizer, said that an episode of Naruto Shippūden would get 450,000 downloads in its first week.

"Interactii" notes that Viz Media, the North American official distributor of the anime and manga series, had never asked Dattebayo to stop subtitling and distributing Naruto.

He continues, "But like any symbiosis, you have to know when its time to move on. That time has come.

"Viz and Crunchyroll have gotten their acts together and are trying something new, with one of the most popular shows in anime today.

"I, and the rest of the staff, know that if we continue to subtitle it, they will have to ask us to stop. That's something they probably don't want to have to do, because it will most likely make all of you very mad at them. That's something they really don't deserve."

You can read the full statement from Dattebayo here.

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Takuya Kimura to appear with Beyonce in Samantha Thavasa ads

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:36:00 +0000

Beyonce in Samantha Thavasa ads
Image credit: Samatha Thavasa

American singer Beyonce Knowles and SMAP member Takuya Kimura will appear together in ads for luxury handbag brand Samantha Thavasa from Thursday.

In an official comment, Kimura said, "I enjoyed the time with her. She is really sexy and cute. I can learn many things from her to be a nicer guy."

Beyonce was quoted as saying, "Kimura is very handsome, strong, manly and sexy."

The ads were made at the end of October when Beyonce visited Japan.

The two spent about two hours together in the studio and Beyonce said Kimura taught her some Japanese words.

The ads will appear in the brand’s 117 shops nationwide as well as on billboards in Aoyama, Daikanyama and Harajuku.

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Japanese music producer Tetsuya Komuro arrested for fraud

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:52:00 +0000

Japanese music producer Tetsuya Komuro arrested
Photo credit: AFP/Jiji Press via Yahoo!News

Japanese prosecutors Tuesday arrested Tetsuya Komuro, one of the most successful producers in Japan's pop music history, on suspicion of fraud, reports said.

Komuro, 49, is alleged to have defrauded a man out of 500 million yen, or about 5 million dollars, over selling copyright of the musician's songs, the Jiji Press news agency and television networks said.

The reports came shortly after television showed Komuro being driven to the Osaka District Public Prosecutors' Office in western Japan.

Rows of dark-suited investigators were seen walking into the building that houses his apartment in Tokyo.

No immediate confirmation of his arrest was available from the prosecutors' office.

Komuro allegedly told an investor in western Japan's Hyogo prefecture that he would sell for one billion yen the copyright of 806 tunes he had composed and written words for, even though he did not actually own the rights, reports said.

The man paid Komuro 500 million yen as part of the fake contract.

Komuro made his musical debut in a three-member band TM NETWORK in 1984.

He then rose to stardom as a producer in the 1990s by forming a group of top-selling artists called "Komuro family," including diva Namie Amuro as well as singing groups trf and globe, and enjoyed a large fanbase in Asia.

He was one of the richest men in Japan in the mid-1990s on sales of more than 170 million CDs he produced.

Recently, he was facing financial pressure from both the failure of his overseas investments and his wife's alimony, reports said.

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Technorati tags: Tetsuya Komuro Japan news

Otaku wants to marry manga character

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:22:00 +0000

A man has launched a campaign in Japan to convince the government that people are in need of a law that would allow marriages with comic characters.

In one week, more than 1,000 people have signed Taichi Takashita's on-line petition, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Takashita decided to launch an online appeal hoping to get one million signatures which would later be presented to the government of Japan.

He said: "I am no longer interested in three dimensions. I would even like to become a resident of the two-dimensional world.

"However, that seems impossible with present-day technology. Therefore, at the very least, would it be possible to legally authorise marriage with a two-dimensional character?"

Comic books known as manga, animated anime films and on-line virtual reality games have become increasingly popular in Japan, with fictitious characters frequently elevated to celebrity status.

One person who supported the petition, wrote: "For a long time I have only been able to fall in love with two-dimensional people and currently I have someone I really love.

"Even if she is fictional, it is still loving someone. I would like to have legal approval for this system at any cost."

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Woman jailed for virtual murder

Technorati tags: Japan news weird news

Woman jailed for virtual murder

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Mapple Story online game

A Japanese woman has been arrested for murdering her virtual ex-husband's avatar.

The 43-year-old woman, identified as Mayumi Tomari, from the Miyazaki prefecture in southern Japan, was outraged that her virtual husband divorced her character in an online game, Maple Story.

Maple Story is a multiplayer online role-playing game in which online characters develop by engaging in relationships and social activities and fighting virtual enemies.

The woman married her fellow character in the game, but the man, a company employee from Sapparo in northern Japan, subsequently "divorced" her.

Tomari allegedly accessed the game using his ID and password without permission in mid-May.

The charges are "illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data," which carries a sentence of up to five years in jail or a fine up to $5,000.

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Technorati tags: Japan news Japan

Singer melody. set for retirement

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:45:00 +0000

melody. plans to retire in January

Japanese pop singer melody. has announced that she will retire from the music industry in January 2009.

Instead, she will be pursuing another one of her dreams, which is to become a designer of Western-style clothes.

The Hawaiian-born singer made her major label debut in 2003 by releasing her first single, Dreamin’ Away.

Since then, she has released 11 singles and 4 albums, plus a best album that came out earlier this month.

Her official site is scheduled to close on January 12, 2009.

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Technorati tags: J Pop Japan

20th Century Boys live-action movie

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:52:00 +0000

The trilogy of 20th Century Boys live-action movie is set to be one of the biggest projects ever in the Japanese movie industry.

The project not only has a budget of 6 billion yen, but it was revealed that it will feature a cast of 300 people.

Based on Naoki Urasawa's manga thriller of the same name, 20th Century Boys is about a group of childhood friends who discover that they share a secret from their past that has played a essential role in the strangely authoritarian world that they live in today.

The second and third part of the trilogy will be released in January and next year autumn.

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BoA set to hit US music market

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:26:00 +0000

Korean singer BoA Kwon set to hit US

BoA, one of the most popular female artists in Asia, will release an English-language single in the U.S. on October 21, with an all-English album to follow on November 11.

Her label S.M. Entertainment Group has set up a group of members of the media to her U.S. team, consists of Max Gousse, known for his A&R work with Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child, and choreographer Flii Stylz, who’s worked with artists such as Chris Brown and the Black Eyed Peas.

BoA has recorded in Korean, Japanese and English, selling millions of records throughout Korea and Japan and six that have topped the Oricon charts in Japan.

The first all-English-language album is prepared to launch in early 2009 with the first single, Eat You Up, was produced by Bloodshy & Avant.

For more information, you can visit her site at www.boaamerica.com.

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Remember by High and Mighty Color

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Here is music video from HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR entitled "Remember" and the group's final single with recently-married vocalist Maki, who has announced she would be marrying 49-year-old guy Nakamura Masato.

The single for this song will be released on October 15th.

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Matt Lucas joins Astro Boy cast

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Matt Lucas has joined the cast of the upcoming CGI animated feature film Astro Boy.

The BAFTA-winning actor-writer has appeared widely on the stage as well as in feature films and television, most recently starring in HBO's Little Britain USA series.

The British actor will be joining a cast that includes Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Freddie Highmore and Eugene Levy.

Set in the future, the Astro Boy movie is a classic superhero origin story about a young robot with incredible powers who searches for the love of his father/creator, Dr. Tenma, taking him into a netherworld of robot gladiators before he returns to save Metro City.

The character Astro Boy was created in the early 1950s by Osamu Tezuka, known as the "God of Manga," and has been the hero of three acclaimed animated television series aired around the world.

The film will be directed by David Bowers (Flushed Away), and is set for domestic release on October 23, 2009.

Image courtesy of Tezuka Productions Co. Ltd./Imagi International Holdings Ltd. via IGN

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RF Online is set to close

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:35:00 +0000

The official website for Codemasters' sci-fi fantasy game RF Online has announced the end of RF in North America and Europe as of the 9th of November.

After more than two years of operation, including nearly one year of free-to-play gaming, it looks like Codemasters is being forced to put an end to the struggling title.

According to an announcement posted on the RF Online website, Codemasters’ license to run the servers in North America and Europe will be expiring after November 9th, due to a breakdown in negotiations with RF Online’s Korean developer, CRR.

Quoted from the official closure announcement:

"Our licence for RF Online is due to expire shortly and unfortunately, despite several weeks of negotiations with CCR, the Korean developers of the title, we have not been able to reach an agreement to renew the contract.

This means that Codemasters will no longer have the right to operate the service in the Western territories it currently provides service in and therefore we are obliged to shut down all associated game services before the licence expires.

The last full day of service will be 9th November, 2008. All RF Online world servers will shut down on the morning of Monday 10th November, UK time."

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Hell Girl comes to U.S. screens

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:26:00 +0000

Hell Girl, an anime series which produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen, began its American run on Independent Film Channel (IFC) on September 30th.

The anime television series is a horror title that makes sure that its episodic journey into the lives of people with worst of luck is worth remembering.

Whenever someone encounters a moment in their life that feels unbearable, they go to the much talked about website for the Hell Correspondence.

The website, only on-line and activated at the stroke of Midnight, is a direct line to the Hell Girl, whom with her supernatural denizens of the underworld take the liberty of taking the souls of those deserving hell.

Hell Girl, also known as Jigoku Shoujo (地獄少女), premiered across Japan on numerous television stations and followed by its second series, Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori (地獄少女二籠). A live-action television series adaptation started airing in Japan from November 2006.

From 2000 to 2005, American audiences saw imported television anime such as Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Paranoia Agent and Samurai Champloo.

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What's the first word Japanese babies learn to speak?

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:43:00 +0000

NTT's Communication Science Laboratories have compiled a list of the top 50 most common first words in Japanese spoken by babies and announced them at a meeting of the Japanese Psychological Association in Sapporo that started on Friday.

Researchers drew their findings from Baby's Growth Diary, a user-generated community site where new parents can write a journal of their experiences. Data was taken from 398 infants aged 10 months to 3 years, between April 2007 and February this year.

Their results showed that "manma" (food) was the first word to be spoken, usually around the age of 15 and a half months, with words like banana (19th), tea (25th) and milk (38th) coming in later on.

At number 4 was "mama", with "papa" coming in 8th, "jiiji" (grandfather) 24th, and "baaba" (grandmother) 37th.

Among the top 50 words, there were five times more nouns than verbs. In English-speaking countries, this ratio is closer to 12:1.

"English-speaking parents teach their children the names of things; in Asia, they tend to stress emotions and feelings," explained researcher Tetsuo Kobayashi.

via Mainichi Japan

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Pachelbel Canon in D: Electric Violin version

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:38:00 +0000

Here is one cool video by somebody unknown but she plays really really good! Just watch and enjoy the video!

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KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories will be released for North America

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Square Enix, Inc. and Disney Interactive Studios announced that KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories will be released for North American audiences on December 2, 2008.

KINGDOM HEARTS Re: Chain of Memories is the direct sequel to KINGDOM HEARTS, and its ending is set about a year before KINGDOM HEARTS II.

Originally released in 2004 for Game Boy Advance, the game was remade into a PlayStation2 and released in Japan as a second disc packaged with KINGDOM HEARTS II Final Mix in March 2007.

But the game itself has never been released in North America.

Though not as successful as the other KINGDOM HEARTS games, it received positive reviews and sales as it praised for its story, graphics, and FMVs.

When it debuted in Japan, it sold 104,000 units in only 48 hours, a record for a Game Boy Advance title at the time.

Since its release, KINGDOM HEARTS Re: Chain of Memories has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

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Itachi tribute - Raven

noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:11:00 +0000

My favorite character combined with my favorite song!

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noreply@blogger.com (raV-Ven) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:18:00 +0000

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