Roland Kelts's Blog, page 87

In Transit

From TYO NRT to NYC JFK--a life lived in transit and acronyms.

My new Yomiuri column--on anime, manga and censorship in US & JP

Is American prudery affecting Japanese law?

"The sentencing of 39-year-old American Christopher Handley on obscenity charges in Iowa last month and an upcoming vote on a "virtual porn" bill in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's General Affairs Committee have sent shivers of anxiety through fans of Japanese popular culture worldwide.

Forget the recent U.S.-Japan dustups over the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps base and the Toyota recall debacle. Suddenly, both postwar allies are converging on...

Tokyo Otaku Talk @ Temple this Thursday

These are heady and head-aching times in Japan--economy tanking, government paralyzed, and otaku culture in the microscope as bills to censor manga and anime await approval. The arrest last month of Chris Handley in the US for 'obscene manga' possession have inspired fits of anxiety here in Tokyo. Otherwise reclusive manga artists staged a protest press conference on Monday, and the bill gets voted on in a low-level committee here in Tokyo on Friday.
Thursday night, I speak on these issues...

@ NYC

@ Atlanta

Japanamerica @ PONYO Day, Kinokuniya NYC, Sat., March 6

Please join us this Saturday at Kinokuniya, NYC, on Bryant Park, for a celebration of the US DVD release of Hayao Miyazaki's PONYO. I will give a keynote address at 4 p.m., signing copies of Japanamerica and singing the Ponyo theme song.

Japanamerica @ PONYO Day, Kinokuniya NYC, 3-6

Please join us this Saturday at Kinokuniya, NYC, on Bryant Park, for a celebration of the US DVD release of Hayao Miyazaki's PONYO. I will give a keynote address at 4 p.m., signing copies of Japanamerica and singing the Ponyo theme song.

Japanamerica goes south

Join us in Atlanta, Georgia this week, March 3-5. Public lecture March 4, 6:30-8:00 p.m. (details below).

Toyota and trust: Was the Akio Toyoda apology lost in translation?

Toyota and trust: Was the Akio Toyoda apology lost in translation?

'Nemawashi' & Toyota via AP today

"Japanese presidents are team leaders who coordinate everyone's views and care intensely about peer opinion because confrontation must be avoided, she told The Associated Press.

This nation has a special phrase to describe such behind-the-scenes consensus-building, ''nemawashi,'' which translates as ''laying the groundwork.'' Neglecting nemawashi is considered a foolish and sure way to walk into failure.

Nemawashi is bureaucratic and time-consuming, but once a decision is made, everyone is on...