Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and Japanese, anime describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with a similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that are sometimes labelled as anime.
Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometres (145,937 sq mi). Japan has a population of nearly 124 million as of 2024, and is the eleventh-most populous country. Its capital and largest city is Tokyo; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.
SoftBank Group Corp. is a Japanese multinational investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services to customers in a multitude of markets and industries ranging from the internet to automation. With over $100 billion in capital at its onset, SoftBank's Vision Fund is the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund. Fund investors included sovereign wealth funds from countries in the Middle East.
Kisshōten, also known as Kichijōten, Kisshoutennyo (吉祥天女), or Kudokuten (功徳天), is a Japanese female deity, adapted via Buddhism from the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Kisshoutennyo is sometimes named as one of the Seven Gods of Fortune (fukujin), replacing either Jurōjin or Fukurokuju. For example, in the 1783 edition of the Butsuzōzui compendium, Kichijōten replaces Fukurokuju as one of the seven fukujin. She is considered to be the goddess of happiness, fertility, and beauty. Kisshoutennyo's iconography is distinguished by the Nyoihōju gem (如意宝珠) in her hand, Kisshōten and the Nyoihōju gem are both represented by the symbol of the kagome.
The Japan national football team, also known by the nickname Samurai Blue, represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. As of July 2024, the Japan national football team has been the best AFC national team since the 22nd of December 2022, for almost up to 2 years in a row. Additionally, Japan's national football team is the most successful team in AFC Asian Cup, with 4 titles won as of July, 2024.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force, JASDF, also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfare. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining a network of ground and air early-warning radar systems. The branch also has an aerobatic team known as Blue Impulse and has provided air transport in UN peacekeeping missions.
No-pan kissa are Japanese sex establishments offering food and drinks served by waitresses wearing short skirts with no underwear. The floors, or sections of the floor, are sometimes mirrored.
The Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium (三協フロンテア柏スタジアム) is a football stadium in Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan. It serves as the home ground of the J1 League club Kashiwa Reysol. The stadium holds 15,349 people and was built in 1985.
The Japan women's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Japan in international women's cricket matches.
Vertical Blue is a invite-only elite freediving competition which has been held in The Bahamas at Dean's Blue Hole by freediving world record holder William Trubridge. It was an AIDA International or CMAS in 2021 judged competition and has been the venue for multiple world and national records for athletes coming from countries all over the world.
National Route 303 is a national highway of Japan connecting Gifu, Gifu and Wakasa, Fukui in Japan. The highway has a total length of 122.8 km (76.3 mi).
Metabaru Air Field is a military aerodrome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It is located at JGSDF Camp Metabaru, in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, Japan.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a wide range of genres, while their lyrics have focused on subjects including mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, individualism, and the consequences of fame and recognition. Their discography and adjacent work has also referenced literature, philosophy and psychology, and includes an alternate universe storyline.
The 2002 Nippon Professional Baseball season ended with the Yomiuri Giants defeating the Seibu Lions in the 2002 Japan Series 4 games to 0.
Tsundoku (積ん読) is the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them. The term is also used to refer to books ready for reading later when they are on a bookshelf.
Saichiro Misumi was a Japanese indologist, former executive director and the incumbent advisor of the Japan-India Association. He is a World War II veteran, a former Indian National Army officer and an associate of Subhash Chandra Bose, renowned Indian nationalist. Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, visited him on 2 September 2014 during the former's official visit to Japan and the meeting was widely covered in Indian media. The Ministry of External Affairs, India have drawn up a project to record Misumi's life and times by way of a documentary film, for which they have invited expression of interest. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award for his contributions towards promoting India-Japan relations.
Yasuaki Yamasaki is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Maria Makino is a Japanese pop singer, dancer and model. She is a 12th generation member of Japanese girl group Morning Musume.
Mount Kobushi is a mountain on the border of Saitama, Yamanashi, and Nagano prefectures in Japan. The mountain is the source of the Arakawa and Shinano Rivers. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.
Grizzly, Inc. is a Japanese animation studio. It is the first studio to produce boys' love or BL anime exclusively.
