Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital and the most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants.
Kobe is the seventh-largest city, the third-largest port city in Japan after Yokohama and Fukuoka, and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay and about 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The Kansai region or the Kinki region, lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the use of the two terms is interchangeable. The metropolitan region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto is the second-most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.
Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,823,358 and has a geographic area of 1,905 square kilometres (736 sq mi). Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara Prefecture to the southeast, and Wakayama Prefecture to the south.
Kansai International Airport is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay off the Honshu shore, 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano (north), Sennan (south), and Tajiri (central), in Osaka Prefecture.
Osaka Station is a major railway station in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company. It forms the city's main rail terminal in the north.
Suita is a city located in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 378,322 and a population density of 9,880 persons per km². The total area is 36.11 km².
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre.
The Sankei Shimbun is a daily newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd. It has the seventh-highest circulation for regional newspapers in Japan. Among Japanese newspapers, the circulation is second only to Yomiuri Shimbun, Seikyo Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Chunichi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, the Nikkei, Nikkan Gendai, and Tokyo Sports.
Naomi Kawase is a Japanese film director. She was also known as Naomi Sento, with her then-husband's surname. Many of her works have been documentaries, including Embracing, about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and Katatsumori, about the grandmother who raised her.
Ōsaka-Uehommachi Station is a railway station in Tennoji-ku, Osaka, Japan, served by the Kintetsu Railway's Osaka, Nara, and Namba Lines. Trains on the Nara Line arrive at and depart from an underground platform. The station is connected to Tanimachi Kyuchome Station on the Tanimachi Line (T25) and the Sennichimae Line (S18) of the Osaka Metro. It has been the Kintetsu Railway's terminus since the Nara Line was opened in 1914.
Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., commonly written as 大阪ガス, is a Japanese gas company based in Osaka, Japan. It supplies gas to the Kansai region, especially the Keihanshin area.
Sakyo Komatsu was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan.
Kamagasaki (釜ヶ崎) is an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in Osaka, Japan. Airin-chiku (あいりん地区) became the area's official name in May 1966.
Tansy Rayner Roberts is an Australian fantasy writer. Her short stories have been published in a variety of genre magazines, including Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and Aurealis. She also writes crime fiction as Livia Day.
Tōru Hashimoto is a Japanese TV personality, politician and lawyer. He was the mayor of Osaka city and is a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing japanese nationalist and conservative-populist politicians.
Osaka International Airport, often referred to as Itami Airport is the primary regional airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Classified as a first class airport, it is the airport closest to Kyoto, 36 kilometres (22 mi) southwest as the crow flies of Kyoto Station.
Japan Music Week (JMW) was an annual international music showcase festival and convention, covering all kinds of music genres, industry sectors and regions. JMW first began in 2009 and was centered on the downtown music hub of Shibuya, Tokyo.
Kansai Music Conference (KMC), is an international music industry conference based in the city of Osaka, located next to Kobe and Kyoto in the Kansai region of Japan, approx. 600 km west of Tokyo. Established in 2009, the conference focuses on the music scene in Japan, specifically the Kansai area.
Kick-Heart (キックハート) is a 2013 Japanese anime short film that uses surreal animation and storytelling to tell a love story between a professional wrestler and a nun. The film was directed by Masaaki Yuasa through Production I.G studios, who ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the short. The short screened on Toonami in 2013 and has screened at several festivals such as the BFI London Film Festival.
