Random Japan

Even adult men are snapping up girls’ comic magazine’s new issue, and for an unexpected reason

Krista Rogers

Publisher Shogakukan’s monthly girls’ manga magazine Ciao always comes packed with bonus goodies that are designed to appeal to its targer MARKET of girls aged 9-15. For the April edition, Ciao‘s publishers really seem to have outdone themselves, though, since everyone from young girls to adult men are snapping up the latest issue with its supplemental goodies which are collectively being advertised as “the ultimate manga creator set.” Keep in mind that this is all for a very reasonable price of 570 yen (US $4.78).

However, a recent trend on social media has shown that many purchasers of the April issue aren’t using the extra items to hone their manga-making skills at all, but are instead buying it with a very different idea in mind.

The April issue of Ciao has been flying off the shelves of bookstores and convenience stores all across Japan, and many net users have commented that the magazine is sold out at their local shops. So what’s all the hype about? It turns out that this month’s bonus goodies packaged alongside the manga are pretty impressive.

85 Percentage of respondents to a newspaper survey who say they support Sapporo’s bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics

50 Number of purse snatchings carried out by a pair of 21-year-old scooter-riding bandits, according to Chiba police

52 Percentage of mobile phone shops that provide “insufficient explanations” to customers who purchase smartphones, according to the National Police Agency

• Headline of the Week: “Chinese Scrambling to Buy Shower Toilet Seats in Japan” (via The Japan News)

GAME ON!

• Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe said he believes funds earmarked for disaster reconstruction in Tohoku would be better used to help pay for the 2020 Olympics. Which is weird, because last year Masuzoe went on record as saying the reconstruction budget should be used for disaster recovery and that the “cost of hosting the Olympics can be covered from elsewhere.”
• Officials at JR East said they’ll introduce double-decker “green car” carriages on the Chūō and Ōme Lines in time for the Tokyo Games.
• Bottom Story of the Week: “Mystery Person Who Sent Hina Dolls to U.S. President Kennedy Identified” (via Mainichi Japan)

First A Fruit Knife 
Then The Slammer


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World's first 'otaku' summit opens in Japan

NATIONAL MAR. 28, 2015 - 04:25PM JST

MAKUHARI, Chiba —

Japan opened what organisers are billing as the world’s first “Otaku” summit Saturday, drawing visitors from around the world as the country looks to boost the international fan base for Japanese comic books and anime.

So-called “otaku”—usually translated as “geeks”—from at least 18 countries and territories, many dressed as their favorite anime characters, were converging on the Otaku Expo at a convention center at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture for the two-day event.

The expo is part of a special comic book fair held every five years, which attracts about half a million visitors, but this year’s event marks the first time that groups from outside Japan are invited. About four dozen overseas otaku groups were expected to attend.