North America's leading anime convention kicks off in Los Angeles
Running through Sunday, the four-day event offers attendees a chance to explore the latest in anime, gaming and entertainment. The program includes musical performances, interactive workshops, panels featuring creators, voice actors and industry insiders.
Since its debut in 1992, Anime Expo has become a major showcase for Japanese entertainment, including anime, fashion, video games, and music.
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The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Actress Eva Green develops new sake with a lower alcohol content
French actress Eva Green has developed her own low-alcohol sake. – Photo: Seiun/The Green Wolf, via ETX Daily Up You might not expect to find sake among the latest trendy low-alcohol drinks, given its deep-rooted traditions, which are even recognised by Unesco. However, there is now a sake with an alcohol content of just 8%, and the name of its creator may surprise you. After beer, gin and other spirits, wine and even champagne, the range of low-alcohol drinks seems almost complete. The latest addition to the list of options is sake. Increasingly featured on restaurant menus, this Japanese rice wine has gained a new reputation in recent years. The Japanese drink is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran, and has an alcohol content around 14° – just like a red wine from the Rhône Valley. This is the case of Junmai, ie, sakes to which no alcohol has been added. Only alcohol resulting from the fermentation produces the desired effect. The alcohol content can rise to around 16% for Ginjo, a category corresponding to sakes in which the rice has been polished more (to 60%) and extra distilled alcohol has been added. This rises to 20% for Genshu, where no additional water has been added after fermentation. Sake is also being rethought as people look for lower-alcohol alternatives. However, few have tried and tested the concept. It is important to note that this rice-based alcohol is deeply rooted in both Japanese traditions and customs. Just as it would be impossible to define France's culinary heritage without its baguette, sake is an essential part of the Japanese way of life. The expertise required to produce it was added to Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage list last December. However, the idea of crafting a low-alcohol version is not without merit. And the initiative is likely to cause a buss because it is led by the French actress Eva Green. Fascinated by Japanese culture, the former Bond girl embarked on this venture alongside her childhood friend, Hadrien Wolff. Both trained in France and Japan in the art of rice wine production. They eventually chose a 200-year-old brewery in Osaka, Kuninocho, to develop their own sake. Its distinctive feature is that it is only 8% alcohol by volume. This feat is achieved in the same way that some winemakers use to market low-alcohol wines: the fermentation process in vats is deliberately interrupted. The second fermentation is stopped by pasteurisation. Slightly sparkling on the palate, this new creation is best enjoyed chilled. It is called Seiun, which means "nebula' in Japanese. To market it, Eva Green and Hadrien Wolff set up the company The Green Wolf. The sake is currently available for pre-order at a price of €45. For the time being, deliveries will only be made in France and Belgium. As a special feature, each bottle will have a QR code linking to a playlist of the songs that were played during fermentation. These are spatial sounds, at various frequencies, which were emitted into each tank to stimulate the action of the yeast. Music may indeed have beneficial effects at this crucial stage in the wine-making process, according to scientific research conducted by researcher Stefano Cervigni on a vineyard in Tuscany. Other studies of this kind have been conducted and have reached similar conclusions, according to the specialist website, Grands Vins Privés. – AFP Relaxnews
Malaysia Sun
a day ago
- Malaysia Sun
U.S.-LOS ANGELES-ANIME EXPO-JAPANESE POP CULTURE
Xinhua 04 Jul 2025, 07:59 GMT+10 (250704) -- LOS ANGELES, July 4, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Anime fans attend the Anime Expo 2025 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, the United States, on July 3, 2025. The largest anime convention in North America, Anime Expo, opened here on Thursday, drawing fans and industry professionals from around the world to celebrate the Japanese pop culture. Since its debut in 1992, Anime Expo has become a major showcase for Japanese entertainment, including anime, fashion, video games, and music. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)
The Star
a day ago
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Singer Ju Hak-nyeon cleared of charges over alleged prostitution activities
Ju Hak-nyeon had denied paying for sex with former Japanese adult actress Kirara Asuka. Photo: Ju Hak-nyeon/Instagram South Korean singer Ju Hak-nyeon, formerly of K-pop boy band The Boyz, will not face charges after he was accused of being involved in prostitution activities. The 26-year-old was in June when the South Korean media reported that his then agency, One Hundred Label, had received an enquiry from Japanese tabloid Shukan Bunshun about his personal meeting with Kirara Asuka, a Japanese adult film actress-turned-influencer, in Tokyo in late May. A South Korean media outlet claimed that he had allegedly paid for sex with the 36-year-old woman. The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul then received a complaint on June 19 from a netizen requesting an investigation into Ju. On July 2, South Korean media outlet Sports Kyunghyang reported that the police had decided on June 25 not to prosecute Ju, as the complaint was based on an Internet article and that there were insufficient specific reasons or circumstances to initiate an investigation. Ju had admitted on June 19 in a letter of apology on Instagram Stories to meeting Asuka, but denied rumours of being involved in prostitution activities. The apology came after he was booted from The Boyz on June 18. He wrote another post on Instagram on June 20, threatening to take legal action against media outlets which continued to spread false information about him. He also said that he was removed from The Boyz with no valid reasons and that his contract termination was done unilaterally by One Hundred Label. The company defended its decision on the same day, saying that he was suspended as the controversy had affected The Boyz's activities and that it provided grounds for contract termination. One Hundred Label warned that it would take legal action against Ju if he continued to repeat the distorted claims. Asuka broke her silence on social media platform X on June 21, saying that she had never accepted money for private sexual services, including during the encounter with Ju. The singer then took to social media on June 22, denying the prostitution allegation again and detailing the sequence of events leading to his sacking from The Boyz. South Korean newspaper The Korea Herald said that a court ruling is expected to determine whether the contract termination is lawful. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
