Japanese anime pop star Mai Mizuhashi skirts nationalism to build Chinese fan base on Ride the Wind reality show

May 29, 2023 | News On Japan

May 29, 2023 (scmp.com) - A Japanese singer’s explosive popularity in China after appearing on a top Chinese music show proves that Chinese audiences can separate culture from geopolitics, despite international tension and growing online nationalism, according to analysts.

Mai Mizuhashi, known by the stage name MARiA, was the breakout star of the latest season of Ride the Wind, a female-centred reality competition show formerly called Sisters Who Make Waves that invites public figures over the age of 30 to take part in pop idol format competitions.

The 31-year-old Ibaraki native debuted earlier this month with a high-energy performance of her 2016 hit “Gokuraku Joudo”, a widely popular anison, or anime song, among Chinese fans of Japanese anime, comics and games (ACG). ...continue reading

Typhoon No. 15 Disrupts Obon Travel as ANA Cancels 58 Flights

Typhoon No. 15 (Chan-hom) began causing significant disruption to Japan's Obon holiday travel on August 11, with ANA canceling 58 flights serving Haneda and Narita airports, JAL canceling four flights, and JR East suspending some services on the Joban Line as the storm approached eastern Japan.

Typhoon No. 15 Set to Make Landfall in Kanto

Typhoon No. 15 (Chan-hom) was closing in on the Kanto region on the evening of August 11 and is expected to soon make landfall in or around Ibaraki Prefecture before crossing Honshu from east to west, an unusual path that could bring heavy rain, powerful winds and high waves across a wide stretch of Japan through August 12.

H3 Rocket No. 9 Successfully Launches Japan GPS Satellite

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

Tokaido Shinkansen Runs First Overnight Service

The Tokaido Shinkansen operated its first overnight service ahead of the Obon holiday period, offering travelers a 15,000 yen trip from the Tokyo area to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka while allowing them to save on hotel costs and arrive earlier than the first regular morning trains.

Typhoon No. 15 to Disrupt Travel on August 11

Typhoon No. 15 is expected to approach and likely make landfall somewhere in the Kanto region on August 11, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that could disrupt conventional rail services, expressways and flights while also affecting a wider area extending into Tohoku.

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