“Let’s meet again in hell” Japanese out-of-print manga archive Manga Library Z begrudgingly shuts down, but swears to be back
After having all of its payment options disabled, Manga Library Z officially shut down on November 26, but J-Comi promises to bring it back.
Attack on Titan voice actor Yuki Kaji releases official voice synthesizer to counter people feeding his voice to AI without permission
Top Japanese voice actor Yuki Kaji has crowdfunded and released official synthesized voices to tackle unauthorized generative AI use.
(Updated) Guy who married Hatsune Miku gives deeper insight into why he did it
Akihiro Kondo, who married Vocaloid and virtual idol Hatsune Miku in 2018, reveals that the decision wasn't motivated by love.
One of Japan’s biggest manga publishers is stepping up to pay authors significantly higher wages
Shueisha has announced an upwards revision of how much they pay Weekly Shōnen Jump authors, including newcomers.
Anime fans encouraged to resume “normal fan activities” after three people got arrested for running an anime spoiler website
Anime production committee of Overlord makes an announcement to fans following arrests related to an anime spoiler site.
Japanese manga store Melonbooks offers customers discount for using AMEX and JCB credit cards to counter issues with international payment processors
International payment processors' tightening adult content regulations lead Melonbooks to offer a discount to encourage customers to switch payment methods
Japanese manga and game store Melonbooks becomes the latest Japanese platform to run into trouble with international payment processors
Melonbooks is suspending Mastercard and Visa payments, likely due to demands from international payment processors related to adult content.
Japan’s game and anime industries could be looking at improved working conditions and higher wages with government’s new plan to quadruple the content industry’s worth by 2033
Japan aims to make content creation the driving force of the country’s economy- identifying anime and video games as core industries
Bandai Namco aims to resolve Gundam model scarcity issues with a whole new factory
Bandai Spirits has announced that their new factory for Gundam models kits (Gunpla) and figures will open in the next fiscal year.
Japan is losing an archive of out-of-print manga because of international credit card companies
Manga Library Z, a manga archive with 14 years of history, will be shutting down this month due to credit card companies taking issue with its adult content.
Japan sees first arrest for running an anime and film “spoiler site”
Three men in Tokyo, Japan have been arrested for copyright infringement for hosting a so -called spoiler site for popular anime and films.
VTuber company behind Hololive warned by Japanese government for violations of subcontractor laws
Cover Corp, the company that owns the VTuber agency Hololive, has been issued guidance for violating Japan's Subcontract Act.
Creator behind Evangelion’s iconic Cruel Angel’s Thesis opening song admits to never having watched the anime
Not everyone who loves Neon Genesis Evangelion's hit opening song has watched the anime, and this includes the lyricist.
Giant Gundam statue in Osaka, Japan gets completed despite complaints about “lame” pose
The brand new life-sized RX-78F00/E Gundam statue installed for Expo 2025 is being widely criticized for its pose.
Japan’s top voice actors band together to fight against their voices being used to train AI without permission
26 of Japan's top voice actors have launched the No More Unauthorized Generative AI campaign to encourage dialogue on gen AI usage.
Japanese gaming convention tackles scalpers by threatening to print their faces and personal information onto merch
A gaming convention in Japan has recently come up with an interesting way of dealing with scalpers, offering them a choice between two “punishments” if they are caught. Gaming Bazaar is a casual market event held periodically around Japan where…
Rilakkuma anime in production by Ghost in the Shell studio Production I.G
A teaser was revealed for Production I.G's new anime featuring the lovable bear mascot Rilakkuma.
Japanese anime industry must reform or face “potential collapse,” UN report sparks concern in Japan
A UN human rights committee report has highlighted deeply-rooted issues in the anime industry, which may hinder Japan's soft power goals.
One Piece author Eiichiro Oda faces backlash for comment about making “erotic” AI images
One Piece mangaka Eiichiro Oda has come under fire for comments related to a One Piece caricature app that appears to use generative AI.
Evangelion creator given “high degree of freedom” to make new Space Battleship Yamato movie
Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno reveals more about his upcoming Space Battleship Yamato movie.
Top Japanese anime actors’ voices to be converted into multiple languages in AI voice generation project
Partnership between Aoni Productions and Coefont aims to use multi-language AI voices generated from real voice actors for virtual assistants etc.
Yaranaika meme’s source manga Kuso Miso Technique banned in Japan by Amazon
Kuso Miso Technique, the manga that inspired the immortal Yaranaika meme and recently crowdfunded an OVA adaptation, has been banned from Amazon in Japan.