The Japan Foundation to Feature Four Guests at New York Comic Con

THE JAPAN FOUNDATION TO FEATURE
FOUR GUESTS AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

Yu Asakawa, Danny Choo, Kanae Muraki and Tara Knight
to attend Courtesy of the Japan Foundation

Norwalk, CT, September 12, 2012: New York Comic Con (NYCC) is today proud to announce the Japan Foundation, an organization built to foster cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries, will participate in this year's NYCC with three events and four guests, showcasing the popular culture of Japan in the heart of New York City. New York Comic Con takes place October 11 - 14, 2012 at NYC's Javits Center, and NYCC is honored to welcome the Japan Foundation's guests - Yu Asakawa, Danny Choo, Kanae Muraki and Tara Knight - to its roster of already-announced guests including Brian K. Vaughan, Mike Mignola, Christopher Lloyd, Joshua Gates and Anne Rice.

2012 will be the third year the Japan Foundation participates in New York Comic Con, and it will be representing Japan and encouraging the discovery of Japanese culture this year with more events and guests than ever before.

Ms. Yu Asakawa is a popular seiyuu (voice actress) and singer from Tokyo. Her list of credits includes Love Hina (Motoko Aoyama), School Rumble (Itoko Osakabe), Vandread (Jura Basil Elden), Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (Priss S. Asagiri), Azumanga Daioh (Sakaki), Gravion (Mizuki Tachibana), Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (Shalua) and Final Fantasy XIII (Lebreau). She also provided the voice of Crypton Future Media's Vocaloid virtual singer Megurine Luka, and she will be speaking at New York Comic Con on Friday about her career, becoming the voice of a Vocaloid and singing as Luka in both Japanese and English. For more on Ms. Asakawa, follow her on Twitter at @Julia320, where she tweets in English to her international fans.

Mr. Danny Choo resides in Tokyo and runs a media production company where he produces Culture Japan, a portal including a website, television show and products that focus on spreading information on Japan around the world. Danny speaks at conferences and universities worldwide on Japanese pop culture and consumer generated media and his activities are regularly featured in web, print and media outlets worldwide such as CNN, BBC, NHK and G4TV. Danny has also been known to dance around Tokyo dressed as a Stormtrooper. Danny will be speaking at NYCC on Saturday about discovering Japanese culture, moving to Tokyo and spreading Japanese pop culture to the world. Danny will also share his tips for studying Japanese for those wishing to follow his path.

On Sunday at NYCC, Crypton Future Media, the creators of Vocaloid singers Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka, will speak about the Vocaloid software's success and bringing the Vocaloids to the USA. This panel will feature the behind-the-scenes story of virtual singer Hatsune Miku with Kanae Muraki, Director of Global Development for Crypton Future Media, and Tara Knight, producer of Mikumentary -- an upcoming series of short documentaries focusing on the Hatsune Miku phenomenon. Crypton will make a special announcement as part of this panel.

"We're very, very excited to see the Japan Foundation expand its participation in New York Comic Con," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. "For three years now, the Japan Foundation has brought a little bit of Tokyo to New York City, and each year, attendees have only wanted more. We know fans will be very pleased to meet Ms. Asakawa, Mr. Choo and the staff at Crypton, and we hope that the Japan Foundation's panels will inspire our attendees to read more about Japan, learn its language, and ultimately visit the land that's given the world Hatsune Miku and so much more."

Full details about the Japan Foundation's panels will be revealed soon, as well as dates and times for autograph sessions with Ms. Asakawa and Mr. Choo.

Tickets for New York Comic Con 2012 are currently available for purchase at www.NewYorkComicCon.com. Companies interested in exhibiting at New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini at Larry@ReedPOP.com . Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which organizes a range of pop culture events, is available at facebook.com/NewYorkComicCon and twitter.com/NY_Comic_Con . Previously announced guests at New York Comic Con include: Anne Rice, Sean Astin, Joshua Gates, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso and Brian K. Vaughan, among others. Officials note that many more guests will be announced over the coming weeks and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC's website for additional announcements.

ABOUT THE JAPAN FOUNDATION: The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 by special legislation in the Japanese Diet and became an Independent Administrative Institution in October 2003. The mission of the Japan Foundation is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. The Japan Foundation activities, aiming comprehensive and effective development of its international cultural exchange programs, consist of following three major categories: (1) Arts & Cultural Exchange, (2) Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange and (3) Japanese-Language Education Overseas. The Foundation maintains its headquarters in Tokyo and operates through a network of 22 overseas offices in 21 countries worldwide. The Japan Foundation is represented by two offices in the United States -- one in New York and the other in Los Angeles.

ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration, Fantasy Football Fest and the UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

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New York Comic Con Press Release