Last week the self-proclaimed “active otaku,” Misamisa, not only revealed her bedroom to the world in the 19th installment of the asianbeat column, “otaku relay” (English page: “otakus @ home”), she also gave us an interesting update on her publication, "cool japan mag!"

“cool japan mag!” is a free paper (free magazine) that introduces various aspects of Japanese pop culture like anime, cosplay, Vocaloid, etc., and all the latest trends going around on the net from a otaku angle. One year since the prototype issue (issue #0) of “cool japan mag!” was released, Misamisa announced that “cool japan mag! First issue” was published on June 1st. That’s not all though! It's also being distributed to 15 countries/regions throughout the world!!

Misamisa’s goal with this publication is “to spread Japanese culture throughout the world” – not unlike asianbeat’s own goal I might add. But she’s running this publication while still enrolled at university! I truly take my hat off to her.

Copies of “cool japan mag!” are scheduled to be distributed in mid-June to cities around the world, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila, Paris, Singapore, San Paulo, Jakarta, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh, Los Angeles and New York. Residents of Fukuoka will be able to pick up a copy from asianbeat headquarters (Acros Fukuoka 3F Kokusaihiroba) towards the end of June.

I’m sure we’ll see even greater things from the 2nd and 3rd issues, and I look forward to the continued global expansion of otaku culture in the near future!

Editorial Dept. - Yamashita

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