News On Japan

New episode of legendary 'Black Jack' manga series created with AI unveiled

TOKYO, Nov 21 (NHK) - A project to create a new episode of Japanese manga legend Tezuka Osamu's Black Jack series with the help of generative AI has been completed and previewed to the media.

Tezka Macoto, the son of the late manga artist who headed the project, and Keio University professor Kurihara Satoshi, an expert on artificial intelligence, jointly met reporters at the university in Tokyo on Monday.

The "TEZUKA 2023" project kicked off in June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the start of the Black Jack manga series, which centers on a genius surgeon who practices medicine without a license.

Tezka Macoto said the project's leaders are relieved the episode was completed as planned. He added he is happy for its creation, which was made possible through a collaboration between human art creators and AI.

He said he believes a very interesting episode has been made.

The team used generative AI models to come up with a basic storyline and to design a new character that appears in the work. The team members adjusted the basic ideas to come up with the final story while interacting with the generative AI models. ...continue reading

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A passenger car was captured speeding across the frame from left to right by a security camera just moments before a fatal crash in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, that claimed the lives of four vocational school students.

A fire broke out on the evening of April 25th on an electronic billboard attached to the Yodobashi Camera commercial complex in front of JR Osaka Station, prompting a large emergency response. No injuries were reported.

Organic fluorine compounds known as PFAS—suspected to be harmful to human health—have been detected at concentrations exceeding the national provisional target in rivers and groundwater at 242 sites across 22 prefectures, according to a government survey.

The Japanese government will begin issuing blue tickets for bicycle traffic violations in April 2026, with fines including 5,000 yen for ignoring stop signs and up to 12,000 yen for riding while using a smartphone.

A 26-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of April 24th in Kasuya Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. While admitting to the offense, she claimed, "I ate chocolate that contained alcohol."

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Entertainment NEWS

Bullet Train Explosion is a high-octane thriller set aboard Hayabusa 60, an E5 Series Shinkansen racing from Shin-Aomori to Tokyo — and it can’t drop below 100 km/h, or a hidden bomb will detonate.

For the first time in his life, comedian Nagano—known for disliking romance reality shows—sat down to watch one with TV personality Chinatsu Wakasugi, a self-proclaimed romance reality show enthusiast. The pair viewed the premiere episode of the new series Offline Love together.

A growing number of Japanese gravure idols—models known for their swimsuit photo shoots—are entering the sauna world, fueling a new entertainment trend known as "nettobashi" (heatwave shows). These events feature the idols dressed in swimsuits, vigorously fanning heat across sauna-goers in steamy venues packed with excited fans.

Shonosuke, a 28-year-old rapper from Sapporo, once spent his teenage years in constant fights, arrests, and turmoil. Raised in a single-parent household, his playground was the nightlife district of Susukino, where he ran away from home, dropped out of high school, and was arrested several times for soliciting customers.

What began as a swirl of excitement quickly became a full-blown celebration of galactic proportions as Star Wars Celebration made its triumphant return to Japan, bringing together fans from more than 125 countries for a spectacular weekend of panels, premieres, and unforgettable moments.

This video focuses on the Yorozuya's kabuki performances at the Kanamura-za theatre in Konpira. (Kabuki In-Depth)

The World Expo 2025 in Osaka begins on April 13 and runs until October 13, 2025, on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay. With the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” it will showcase innovations in sustainability, technology, and cultural exchange.

It’s easy to dismiss paid followers as a shortcut — or worse, a scam. But here’s a smarter, more strategic way to look at it: paid followers are not the end goal. They’re just the start of a much bigger content-driven journey.