Japan Music News: 75 fans fall ill at Johnny's group NEWS's concert

On July 27th, the Japanese boy idol group of the Johnny's talent agency "NEWS" held an outdoor concert at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, with approximately 35 thousand fans attending.

The band that used to have Tomohisa Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido...

Unfortunately, due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, the concert was cut short after 1 hour and 45 minutes. On top of the cancellation, several fans called for paramedics seeking attention to their health. Nearly 45 paramedics arrived on the scene with 75 fans being treated for illness and 7 fans having respiratory troubles.

Japan News: The Pikachu Jumbo Jet will retire in September

All Nippon Airways will be replacing all 4 of their Boeing 747 planes which includes the beloved "Pikachu Jumbo Jet".

There goes my childhood...

Japan Music News: Mariko Shinoda "graduates" AKB48

After 7 and a half years, the oldest member of AKB48 Mariko Shinoda (27) has officially calls it quits and has "graduated" AKB48. Her final show was at her home town of Fukuoka, in front of 32 thousand fans.

Now she can finally stop wearing a school uniform!

The concert lasted 4 hours with fans cheering "Mariko!" throughout. In the finale, she made a speech thanking the fans and other members for the opportunity, claiming "If I am reborn, I will still choose AKB48".

In a time that Japanese Idols are on average 15 years old, Kudos to you Mariko for proving the entertainment industry that age is no longer a barrier for success.

Japan Sports News: Tweet by a college student claims "Shinji Kagawa came to my workplace" with a picture of security footage.

The Japanese Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa is Japan's finest soccer export, currently playing at the top of his game. The 24 year old Midfielder's humble personality and good looks have made him become a favorite for the Japanese public and soccer supporters around the world.

I would be grinning like that too if I saw his contract

But with his fame, fans and the media are watching him very closely both on and off the field.
And on July 19th, a college student who works at a convenience store tweeted on her twitter account the following:

Japan Film News: "Wreck-it Ralph" character Vanellope based off AKB48 member Ami Maeda?

Disney’s CG film “Wreck-it-Ralph” (or “Sugar Rush” in Japan) was quite good. So good that in fact everyone mistakenly thought it was a Pixar film.

If you think of the film as a metaphor for the relationship between Pixar and Disney, it gets a whole lot more depressing...

Japan News: Paul McCartney touring Japan in November

The former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney (71) has added Japan to his list for his "Out there" World tour. It has been 11 years since he last toured Japan.

J-pop News: Nana Mizuki's First Concert Overseas "NANA MIZUKI LIVE CIRCUS 2013+"

The Japanese singer/actress Nana Mizuki will be performing at the Legacy Taipei in Taiwan on November 23rd and 24th. This is the first time in her career that she will performing her solo concert overseas.

Japan Manga News: Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine goes digital in Japan

The popular Weekly Shonen Jump will begin digital distributing their magazine for Japanese iOS devices from their 33rd issue, coinciding with the 45th anniversary of Shonen Jump.

Japan Gaming News: 30th Birthday for the Famicon (NES)

Today, July 15th, marks the 30th birthday for the Famicon (aka "Nintendo Entertainment System" for the rest of the world). Since its production from 1983 to 2003, the console has sold nearly 62 million units.

Japan Music/Film News: J.J Abrams and Yasutaka Nakata co-produce a track (featuring Kyary Pamyu Pamyu) for "Star Trek Into Darkness"

The Japanese music producer Yasutaka Nakata has co-produced a song with Director/Producer J.J. Abrams. The song will be featured in Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness".

Japan Film News: Praise for Mana Ashida from "Pacific Rim" director Guillermo del Toro

The little girl from the trailer

Pacific Rim doesn't come to Japanese cinemas until August 9th.
But Japan is already making a great deal of hype due to the praise given to Mana Ashida for her performance as Young Mako by director Guillermo del Toro.

Japan Film News: Nozomi Sasaki becomes a prostitute!! (for her new film)

Yes! Her!

The Japanese Model/Actress Nozomi Sasaki will take on the role of a prostitute for the upcoming film "My life changed after going to a brothel lol" 【風俗行ったら人生変わったwww】(and yes, that is the actual name of the film title).

Japan Products: Attack on Titan T-Shirts

The popular Manga and Anime Series, Attack on Titan, have collaborated with the Nippon Broadcasting System T-shirt brand 193t and have produced 5 official T-shirts for the fans!

Japan News: Hello Kitty in Fundoshi (man thong) banned

NO CATS ALLOWED!!

The use of the Hello Kitty sporting a Fundoshi (a traditional Japanese male undergarment) has been banned. 

J-pop News: Perfume perform in London

On July the 5th, the J-POP trio Perfume performed at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in front 2000 local fans. The live was also streamed live with over 30,000 viewers Worldwide.

Pokemon News: New features of Pokemon X, Y revealed in the 3rd trailer

The third official trailer for the new pokemon game X, Y was uploaded onto youtube on July 4th and revealed several new features of the game!

For those of you not able to understand Japanese, let me translate for you.

Firstly, the usual new location and characters.... FYI: The new location of Kalos is apparently based on France!

The Kalos Region

Two new battle modes have been annouced. Horde Battles and Sky Battles!

Horde Battles (aka Gang Rape mode!)

Sky Battles (I guess only for flying types?)

A new pokemon type was also annouced! The "fairy" type. They will be super effective against Dragon types. Sylveon along already existing pokemon like Jigglypuff, Gardevoir, Marill will be rebranded as Fairy types.  

Also a questionable add-on feature is the "poke-parler" feature which lets you interact with your relationship with pokemon. (Parler means "to converse" in French)

Because I'm sure rubbing a stick in their face will make them feel so happy!!

What do you guys think of the features? Or what features do you wanna see? Let me know in the comments!!

Leah Dizon back in Full Throttle!! 2 events in 2 weeks [Pictures included]

Yes, Leah Dizon is officially back!So I wrote a previous post about her returning for a photoshoot, but now she has made 2 appearances live at two events! And I got some photos for you guys!!

Firstly, her appearance on June 28th for the promotion for the Men's deodorant AXE. This is her first appearance back in Japan from a 3 year hiatus.

Just hoping that the axe effect works on her

Japan Technology News: Docomo Xperia annouce collaboration with Hatsune Miku [Xperia feat. Hatsune Miku]

Today, the Japanese telecommunications company NTT DOCOMO announced its new limited edition smartphone, the"Xperia feat. Hatsune Miku".

It's basically the Xperia A in a light blue Vocaloid mascot themed shell. And no specific about unique features have been annouced at this point. A nod to Miku is that only 39,000 units will be manufactured.  39 is read as Mi-ku in Japanese... So get it!? Mi-ku-thousand!! LOL!!

Japan Film News: Ghibli's "Kiki's Delivery Service" live action film confirmed!!

Yes, it's confirmed. The live action version of Studio Ghibli's classic "Kiki's Delivery Service" is in production. Well... to be precise, the novel that the Studio Ghibli's  classic was based off will be made into a live action film. The plot of the film will act as a prequel to the Ghibli film revolving around Kik's training and relationship with her family before the full moon when she sets off on the trip to becoming a full fledged witch.

Also, the following cast and crew members have been announced:

Fuka Koshiba as Kiki

Japan Manga News: Dragon Ball author's new manga series "Ginga Patrol Jaco"

Toriyama Akira (the author of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dr. Slump) is launching a new manga series called Ginga Patrol Jaco (Jaco The Galactic Patrolman).

Characters from Ginga Patrol Jaco

Japan News: The new ONE PIECE restaurant opens!

On June 28th, a restaurant themed after the popular manga/anime series "ONE PIECE" was opened to the public.