Japan

Miss Universe Japan Will Compete As Sailor Moon

Representing Japan, Miss Universe contestant Yuumi Kato is dressing as Sailor Moon for the country’s national costume. Makes sense, I guess! Of course, she’ll wear other outfits, but this one is for competition Born in Nagoya, Kato speaks four languages (Japanese, Chinese, English and Malay). She will compete at this year’s Miss Universe on December…

Japan Is Building A Massive, Life-Sized Gundam Statue That Moves

Over the past few years, several life-sized Gundam statues have gone up in Japan. Either they didn’t move at all or didn’t move that much. During a recent press conference, a fourth anniversary Gundam project was announced. At Gundam Factory Yokohama, an 18-meter “moving” Gundam statue will be erected in summer 2020. Above is the…

Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn Always Seemed Doomed

In Japanese, there is an expression: deru kui wa utareru (出る杭は打たれる). It’s the equivalent of the English phrase, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” The expression immediately lept to mind yesterday when I read that Carlos Ghosn, the man credited with saving Nissan, had been arrested for allegedly using company money for personal…

Check Japan’s Tiny Electronics Shops For Retro Gaming Finds

Sometimes in Japan, it feels like all the good retro game stuff has been snapped up by famous retailers. That, or it’s fetching a premium on internet auction sites. Yet, if you look, there are definitely neat finds. Just ask Twitter user Daitora While in the city of Ome for a local festival, Daitora popped…

See How The Attack On Titan Manga Will End

Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan debuted in 2009. Now it is entering its final arc, hurtling the popular manga to a conclusion. Warning: This article has spoilers. This weekend, Isayama (pictured) was featured in the Japanese TV program Jonetsu Tairiku He was shown working on the manga that made him famous, and the program featured…

Buying Plushies Of The Original 151 Pokémon Is Expensive

Earlier this year, Kotaku reported that a bunch of plush toys based on the first gen Pokémon plushies were going on sale in Japan. Twitter user Sekai bought all of them. The total cost? Roughly 180,000 yen or nearly $1,600. That, it seems, does include sales tax Here are more shots of Sekai’s collection:

Pokémon Go Led These Two Players To Marriage 

Shibu and Lily met in Odaiba, Tokyo while playing Pokémon Go. They fell in love and were recently married. Congrats to them! Their wedding ceremony was Pokémon Go themed Niantic Japan congratulated the two! And released Luvdisc during the wedding ceremony One of Shibu’s friends made this wonderful wedding themed clip that explains how they…

Tetsuya Nomura Says Final Fantasy VII Remake Is Progressing Well

Final Fantasy VII Remake was first announced back in 2015 with third-party studio CyberConnect2 handling development. Last year, development was moved in-house at Square Enix. Tetsuya Nomura says things are going well. Earlier this year, there was a Japanese job listing for “core members” for the remake. In a recent Famitsu interview, Nomura briefly discussed…

Top Street Fighter Player Arrested For Alleged Molestation (Again)

This summer, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike player Kenji Kuroda was arrested for allegedly committing indecent acts this February against a high school girl. He’s been arrested again for another alleged incident that happened last year. According to Sankei, the latest allegation took place in Chiba Prefecture on May 31, 2017. Kuroda is accused of…

Today Was A Big Victory For Japanese Tattooing

Last fall, the Osaka High Court ruled that tattooer Taiki Masuda broke the law by tattooing without a medical license. Today, the court issued a ruling on his appeal. According to Asahi, the Osaka High Court ruled in Masuda’s favor, overturning the previous guilty verdict. Masuda’s lawyers argued that his intention wasn’t a medical procedure,…

This Role-Playing Game Event Logo Sure Looks Familiar

“Brave Ground” is an upcoming event for role-playing game GranBlue Fantasy. I feel like I’ve seen it before. Yes, yes I have. As My Game News Flash points out, the logo appears to resemble Final Fantasy XIV’s emblem. Fans quickly noticed the similarity.

Halloween In Tokyo Descends Into Chaos, Clean-Ups And Arrests [Updated]

It’s not Halloween yet, but the weekend before drew big crowds in Tokyo’s Shibuya. Costume-wearing revelers descended on the neighborhood, and the tricks made a much bigger impact than the treats. Update: November 1 – 6:30am: According to Japan Today, thirteen men were arrested last night for alleged theft and groping. A fire also broke…

DJ Hello Kitty Opens With “Motherf**kers”

Sanrio Puroland, the Hello Kitty and friends theme park in Tokyo, has been holding Halloween celebrations. DJ Hello Kitty got things started with a big “Motherfuckers, go!” DJ Hello Kitty is an officially licensed Sanrio character that debuted back in 2010. Since then, DJ Hello Kitty has been appearing in clubs all over the world…

Here is the trailer for the upcoming Yakuza 4 remaster for PlayStation 4, which includes the first footage of Toshiki Masuda as character Masayoshi Tanimura. The game will be out next January in Japan. No word yet on an international release.

Pachinko Company President Murdered In Japan

Masaki Uchigashima, president of Nagoya-based pachinko machine maker Takao, was found stabbed to death in the company parking garage. Aichi Prefecture police are calling it a homicide. ANN reports that the 39-year-old pachinko president was stabbed multiple times in the head and the stomach. According to authorities, Uchigashima’s suit was disheveled as though he put…

Fake Ultra Rare Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Leads To Arrest 

Lorelei The Symphonic Arsenal was a prize card at the 2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships. There are only six in the whole world. Six real cards, that is. According to YTV and MBS, 29-year-old Shunki Iwasaki allegedly sold a fake Lorelei The Symphonic Arsenal to a 20-something year-old Kyoto woman for 400,000 yen ($3,556) through an…

After Cocaine Allegations, Yakuza 4 Gets A New Voice Actor 

In Yakuza 4‘s original PlayStation 3 release, the character Masayoshi Tanimura was played by actor Hiroki Narimiya. The upcoming PS4 remaster, however, will feature another actor. Narimiya made a name for himself as a popular TV and movie actor, starring in the live-action adaptation of Phoenix Wright as well as 2016’s Assassination Classroom: Graduation flick.…

Spot What’s Wrong With This Japanese TV Screenshot

Akira Ikegami often appears on Japanese TV to explain difficult news topics or discuss history. He’s incredibly famous and has been on TV for decades. Earlier this week, he discussed French history. People noticed something off. On the recently aired Akira Ikegami Walks Through Modern History, he introduced Liberty Leading the People In Japanese, the…

The First Official Harry Potter Cafes Coming To Japan

For a limited time, two Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts themed cafes are heading to Japan. Called the Wizarding World Cafe, they will open on November 9. There are other unofficial Harry Potter cafes, but this is apparently the first official one. The cafe will have two locations—one in Tokyo and the other in Fukuoka—and…

Japan’s Biggest Indie Game Show, Reviewed By My Kid

Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft and his son visit BitSummit