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- is a series for active idols · 2026-09-08
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2h ago
Konami Digital Entertainment will give away original mineral water named Gensui at its Gensou Suikoden booth during Tokyo Game Show 2026, which runs from September 17 to 21 at Makuhari Messe. The water shares its name with the series' common abbreviation and is presented as the renowned water of Taiju Village, the home of the protagonist in the upcoming title Gensou Suikoden STAR LEAP, referred to as Gensui SP. Attendees can receive Gensui by following the official Gensou Suikoden and Gensui SP X accounts and reposting the pinned post. Social media reactions quoted by the sources include 'Laughed at Gensui' and 'I want to try it.' The booth will also hand out an instruction manual for Gensui SP containing story information, world maps, and rune details, plus clear stickers featuring chibi characters from the Gensou Suikoden anime, distributed randomly in eight types under the same conditions. Exhibitions will commemorate Gensui SP and the series' 30th anniversary, including a main visual for Gensou Suikoden I newly drawn by Junko Kawano. A live stage event on September 20 from 12:00 to 13:30 will feature producer Rui Naito, Gensui SP producer Shinya Fujimatsu, and director Yoshiki Takeyama.
3h ago
The September 9 issue of Young Animal Zero, dated 10/1, features Dokagui Daisuki! Mochizuki-san and Boku no Suki na Hito ga Suki na Hito on the cover and in color. Both titles previously had TV anime adaptations announced. The issue also runs a two-chapter release for Boku no Suki na Hito and promotes the September 29 release of Mochizuki-san volume 4.
3h ago
Tensor Energy and Eco Style have signed a business partnership to develop low-voltage grid-connected storage plants. Eco Style will handle development, construction, and O&M, while Tensor Energy acts as aggregator through its Tensor Cloud system. The companies aim to connect 1,000 units cumulatively by the end of 2027.
3h ago
Athlete Japan, which offers a flat-fee advertising subscription letting small businesses use top athletes' likenesses across media, has added former pro tennis player Ai Sugiyama to its roster. The service starts at 300,000 yen monthly and directs part of its revenue to Japanese language school support in Southeast Asia.
5h ago
XNOVA, a Kyoto-based physical AI and robotics startup, was selected by NEDO for the GENIAC national project to develop Tool-VLA, an AI foundation model specialized in operating power tools. The company acts as representative organization, with Hilti supporting tool technology and major construction firms backing demonstration. The roughly one-year effort runs from fiscal 2026 into 2027, aiming to give robots the ability to perform construction work.
5h ago
Medi Face, a Tokyo-based medical technology company, was selected on September 7 as an IT introduction support operator for the Digitalization and AI Introduction Subsidy 2026 program. Its AI mental health care tool was registered in the same program. The company will now guide small and mid-sized businesses from tool selection through subsidy application and post-introduction operation, coordinating with occupational physicians, public health nurses, and medical institutions.
7h ago
Pixiv Inc. announced on September 9 that it has invested in VRChat Inc., the San Francisco-based operator of the social VR platform VRChat, and formed a capital and business alliance. The two companies plan to collaborate over several years to develop the creator ecosystem around 3D avatar culture, with joint promotions, events, and gradual technical integration between their platforms. The first initiative is Pixiv supporting VRChat's booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held September 17-21 at Makuhari Messe, including a guest session. The second is a new VRChat world, 'Avatar x Dress-up Tutorial' (working title), developed by Pixiv with full promotional support from VRChat, aimed at beginners and planned for release this fall. The alliance builds on existing ties: BOOTH's 3D model category reached about 10.4 billion yen in 2025 annual transaction value, up about 179 percent from the prior year, and VRChat reports more than 250,000 active communities with average daily concurrent connections of 100,000. The investment amount and stake were not disclosed.
7h ago
Geoff Keighley, the host and producer of The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest, and Mark Cerny, the lead architect of the PS4 and PS5, have co-founded Nova Games Foundation, a nonprofit that funds young game creators. The foundation runs a fellowship program for university graduates who want to move directly into original game development after finishing school. It partners with 13 universities worldwide and targets games with artistic, literary, or social value.
Each year Nova selects 20 fellows and gives each $100,000, with up to $500,000 in additional support for especially promising projects. Fellows receive mentoring and promotion from industry leaders. Developers keep ownership of their work, choose their own publisher and platform, and Nova takes no equity and requires no repayment.
The foundation is independent of Keighley's events and of PlayStation. Per Game File, both men donated several million dollars at the founding and plan to keep funding it. Keighley said he has avoided commercial investment in games because of his industry position and seeks no financial return. Cerny, aware of his late career, said he wants to give back to the next generation. Applications open in December 2026, with details due mid-September.
7h ago
Renta!'s original BL vertical comic 'Seishun no Yarinaoshi wa Isekai de' will air on TOKYO MX from January 2027 as an Anicomi, Papyless's motion comic format that adds motion and audio to manga. Tomohito Takatsuka plays Fuwa Makoto and Ryuichi Kijima plays Thanatos. The adaptation adds generative AI to some cuts. A key visual and teaser PV were released with the announcement.
7h ago
maimai de luxe launches its new version MAGiCAL on September 17 with a collaboration with the anime Hiroshi Nohara's Lunch Style, running through November 19. The anime's opening song Gohan Tabe Yo by Mega Shinnosuke joins the POPS & Anime category, and a new chihou opens where players earn four characters as tsuaa members: Hiroshi Nohara, Kawaguchi, Haruka Yosugi, and Akitake Takagiri. Two name plates and four frames are also included.
7h ago
Algomatic Dynamics, a robotics and physical AI startup in the DMM group, raised 5 billion yen from DMM.com in its first funding round since its April 2026 founding. The company plans to publicly launch its AI multi-finger hand platform in Japan by the end of 2026. Its work spans motion data collection and learning, AI hand sales and maintenance, and entertainment AI toys.
8h ago
Konami Digital Entertainment announced on September 9, 2026 that SILENT HILL f and Urban Legend Dissolution Center have entered a collaboration. The centerpiece is a browser-based mini game in which the two protagonists, Hinako Fukami and Azami Fukurai, meet in a strange fog. Hakaba Bunko, the developer of Urban Legend Dissolution Center, produced the game, which is playable on PCs, smartphones, and tablets and supports Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. The mini game contains no jump scares and depicts the encounter between the two characters who have each faced supernatural threats in their own games.
The collaboration also includes a commemorative illustration by kera, the illustrator responsible for character and creature design in SILENT HILL f, showing two versions of Hinako facing Azami and center chief Wataru Meguriya. A Steam bundle lets buyers purchase both games at 10 percent off their regular prices. A sale covering SILENT HILL series titles is also running on Steam, PlayStation Store, and Epic Games Store.
9h ago
CRI Middleware and IID announced the first 15 exhibitors for GTMF 2026, the game developer tools and middleware show, and opened free visitor registration. The event runs December 2 in Osaka and December 8 in Tokyo, its 21st edition. The sponsor roster spans platform holders, infrastructure firms, and audio and graphics middleware vendors, with new participants including Toshiba, SoftBank, and Khronos Group. Exhibitor applications remain open through the end of September.
9h ago
Asilla, a Japanese AI company, joined a panel discussion co-hosted by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. The company presented its AI security system, in operation at roughly 250 sites in Japan since 2022, and argued its deployment experience can support Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital transformation. Asilla was one of five Japanese companies on the panel.
9h ago
ASUENE added ASUENE DPP, a feature of its AI sustainability platform that supports Digital Product Passport compliance in the EU. The tool unifies product and raw material information management, supplier data collection, LCA/CFP calculation, and DPP generation and publication, with AI validation for missing inputs and abnormal values. It targets batteries, steel, aluminum, textiles, furniture, and construction products. The EU's ESPR took effect in 2024, and battery passports become mandatory from February 18, 2027.
10h ago
The University of Electro-Communications will hold the opening ceremony for its Entertainment Creation Research and Education Center (CEREC) on September 29, 2026. The event features a panel between university president Masakazu Muramatsu and special visiting professor Ken Kutaragi, the engineer known as the father of PlayStation, moderated by CEREC center director Takuya Nojima. A second panel has young graduates from Sony Interactive Entertainment and Koei Tecmo Games discussing what UEC students bring to the industry. Admission is free.
10h ago
Interbeing, the Kyoto startup behind the Polyphony Sales voice analysis service, raised about 50 million yen through a third-party allotment to Kakuchi, a Nagano company founded in 1886. The two signed a business collaboration agreement in July 2026. Kakuchi becomes investor, customer, and implementation partner, and its sales floor will be the site where Interbeing verifies how voice reveals whether a pitch landed.
10h ago
Trimble announced on September 4 that it acquired Terasat Japan, a major provider of VRS GNSS correction services in Japan. Terasat's network has run on Trimble technology for years, and Trimble now owns and operates it. The deal expands Trimble's real-time centimeter-level positioning base for surveying, construction, automotive, and agriculture. Purchase terms were not disclosed. Terasat Japan draws on the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's network of more than 1,300 electronic reference points.
10h ago
R&S CREATIVES will open SP8A, a membership workspace for creators, at Bellcourt Akasaka 101 in Tokyo on October 1, 2026. Founding members 1 through 30 pay 25,000 yen monthly with no entry fee. Fees rise 5,000 yen per 30 member numbers, capped at 55,000 yen, and are locked for existing members. Deposit reservations close September 20.
12h ago
CD PROJEKT RED adjusted the price of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition on Sept 9. The Xbox and PC versions dropped 110 yen to 6,490 yen, while the Nintendo Switch version rose 362 yen to 7,490 yen. PlayStation prices were unchanged. The change covers download versions only and applies to a limited set of regions including Japan. It follows the Aug 26 announcement of the Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Remaster, which arrives Sept 29 as a free upgrade for original owners.
13h ago
Gunosy has begun offering "Media AI Partnership," a service that co-creates AI agent adoption for media companies starting from the planning stage. Joint projects with multiple media companies are already underway. The service targets newspapers and broadcasters facing declining circulation and ad market changes. AI agents handle article curation, submission, distribution, ad operations, data analysis, and billing, with staff confirming via chat. Final publication decisions remain with humans. The service is part of Gunosy's B2B entry announced August 27, 2026.
13h ago
VIPO and CNC will hold a free webinar on October 1, 2026, explaining two French support programs for film and video: the World Cinema Support (ACM) grant for international co-productions and the International Investment Tax Credit (C2I) for production work done in France. The session, held in French with Japanese interpretation, targets Japanese producers, directors, and other film industry professionals. Registration closes September 23.
15h ago
Lionsgate is partnering with Toei Animation as its new U.S. distribution partner for anime projects, beginning with the Monkey Quest film in 2027. The company will be considered for future co-productions with Toei. The film, a 2D-3D hybrid loosely based on Journey to the West, is in post-production and aiming for a 2027 release. Charades will distribute the film worldwide outside the U.S.
17h ago
Manga Up! Global added three manga to its service this week: Dragon and Flower: The Timid Princess and the Ice Sword's Loyalty, I Was Sacrificed to a Vampire, But He Spoils Me Instead!, and Wildcard Alchemist: Building the Ultimate Guild With a Divine Fluffy Beast and Random Alchemy Skill. The titles arrived on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday, and all three already have compiled volumes shipping in Japan.
23h ago
Patrice Desilets told Eurogamer he has plans for a sequel to Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. He said the 2019 survival action adventure was designed as volume 1 of a multi-volume work. He owns the IP but called the situation complicated. Asked whether he could make a sequel, he affirmed and said he always finishes what he starts. Actual work remains unclear while he develops 1666: Amsterdam, which is in early access.
1d ago
Crunchyroll is recruiting a Vice President of Content Protection & Anti-Piracy to lead a global strategy against unauthorized anime distribution. The position has been open since at least July, and the executive will report to Crunchyroll's General Counsel. The job listing asks the hire to define and lead the company's global strategy, establish its long-term vision, operating model, technology roadmap, and strategic partnerships, and oversee AI-enabled enforcement. Hands-on experience with YouTube Content ID, Meta Rights Manager, and the Google Trusted Copyright Removal Program is listed among the requirements. The role also involves building relationships with digital platforms, hosting providers, registrars, CDN providers, payment processors, and industry organizations. Crunchyroll's anime library is among the most pirated globally. The recruitment comes as Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry published a five-year plan to raise overseas sales of Japanese content to 20 trillion yen by 2033, with anti-piracy measures as part of the strategy. Separately, CODA, Japan's leading anti-piracy organization, signed a memorandum of understanding with IP House after Operation Animes in Brazil, which CODA says shut down dozens of sites.
1d ago
Phoenixx announced the second edition of Zero Kyori Connect, an indie game event built around VTubers playing games in front of a live audience, set for Saturday, September 26, 2026, at namco TOKYO in Shinjuku. The event, titled Zero Kyori Connect No.2 ~Indie Game Edition~ Supported by xeen, features two games: Zako no Ahiru, a taunting, frustrating mountain-climbing game, and Super Tank Wars, a programming AI tank battle game. Doors open at 16:00 and the show starts at 17:00. Eri Mochizuki and Nana Matsuzaki host as MCs, with live commentary from Ichigo no Pafe, Kojouji Puramu, and Yukimizu Meru. Regular tickets cost 3,500 yen including tax, sold first-come, first-served with a limit of one ticket per person per show. Bandai Namco Research Institute provides planning cooperation, Baba Ani Two handles production, and xeen is the special sponsor. Phoenixx organizes the event, which it describes as connecting VTubers and audiences at zero distance.
1d ago
LINE Yahoo said on September 8 it is acting on Yahoo! Auctions and Yahoo! Flea Market over the Kura Sushi x Chiikawa collaboration, which was canceled after employee misconduct was confirmed. For listings suspected of being fraudulently obtained, the company is confirming the acquisition route with the seller and taking action based on the results. Kura Sushi said it will take strict legal measures against those involved.
1d ago
At the third SIG-Experiential Entertainment mini-seminar, IGDA Japan's special interest group reviewed the 2025 state of experiential entertainment. Puzzle and escape game sales crossed 100 billion yen for the first time, based on public figures from about 20 brands and companies. ARG works have multiplied to the point they can no longer all be followed, and murder mystery store counts in 2025 exceeded 2024. Speakers also flagged rising event prices and mismatches between audience expectations and actual experiences.
1d ago
Shinomiya Shiori, the yellow-green member and self-styled comedy act of idol group Hare to Hare!, held a release event August 25 at Sofmap AKIBA Amusement Hall for her first DVD I.D (Spice Visual, 120 minutes, 4620 yen). The disc is part of the I.D series for active idols. Shot in Miyakojima, it leans on a girlfriend feel, from a polka dot bikini beach scene to a black knit removal that shows purple lingerie.
1d ago
V-CUBE has launched an RTC Development Support Service for companies building video and voice call features into their services. The service covers planning, prototyping, production development, and quality verification, drawing on V-CUBE's accumulated real-time communication technology. It targets remote customer service, online consultations, education, events, and AI avatar dialogue. The service expands V-CUBE's earlier Agora SDK support, which focused on SDK integration, into full end-to-end development assistance.
1d ago
Tokoshie Inc., developer of the AI 3D CAD Ignite0, raised funding with East Ventures and two individual investors as subscribers. The funds will strengthen development of Ignite0, a chat-based tool that designs and edits 3D models through natural language and images. The company has established a US headquarters and will accelerate adoption in manufacturing and robotics, expanding globally from the US. Ignite0 has over 600 users in more than 20 countries and regions.
1d ago
MIC FIELD, a creative studio founded by Tomoya Mikuni, launched in March 2026 in Shibuya, Tokyo. The company designs experiences, spaces, and brand value from concept through production, covering photo and video, web, SNS, space and experience design, and product development. Its projects include W ARC, a pickleball wellness project, and NEON PICKLEBALL CLUB, a pickleball facility at the Shibuya Tobu Hotel that opened in August 2026.
1d ago
JP Digital, the Japan Post Group DX company, has been selected for the Wantedly Awards 2026 BEST TEAM NOMINATION 100, a list of 100 companies chosen from more than 40,000 Wantedly-registered firms for hiring strength. It is the second consecutive year the company has made the list. Category winners will be announced at FUZE2026 on September 25.
1d ago
KADOKAWA announced on September 8 that it will consolidate five of its anime production subsidiaries into a new company, Studio One Base, scheduled to be established in November 2026. The five studios are ENGI, Studio KADAN, Chiptune, Bellnox Films, and Raging Bull. The new company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of KADOKAWA, headquartered at the new anime production hub inside Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, which also carries the Studio One Base name and is scheduled to open in September 2026.
The consolidation is the third phase of KADOKAWA's initiative "Create the people who create. Create the place to create." The company cites industry-wide challenges including talent shortages and rising production costs as the background for the move. Management and back-office functions will be centralized, while each studio's name, branding, and production lines will be maintained. KADOKAWA says its group anime studios have produced a combined 48 works and 486 episodes since 2018. Takeshi Kikuchi will serve as president of the new company, which is expected to have approximately 310 employees.
1d ago
Aitane, the Tokyo startup behind the AI sales agent of the same name, raised 30 million yen in a pre-Series A round from Iidabashi Cross Partners, the corporate venture capital arm of PCA Group. The funds go to expanding the agent's features, developing AI glasses for face-to-face sales, hiring, and exploring business co-creation with PCA, which builds accounting, payroll, and sales management software.
1d ago
TELECY, a CARTA HOLDINGS group company, presented its data science work at YANS2026 in Sendai. Visitors focused on how the company estimates TV CM effectiveness with difference-in-differences, comparing broadcast and non-broadcast areas to build counterfactual numbers. TELECY also helped judge and award the CARTA HOLDINGS Award to Toyota Technological Institute researchers for a QA data augmentation method that preserves the original dataset's evaluation perspective.
1d ago
Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK class action lawsuit alleging it shared users' HIV status and location data with third parties before 2020. The settlement does not include an admission of liability. The case, filed in April 2024 by UK law firm Austen Hays on behalf of thousands of British users, covers roughly 12,000 plaintiffs. Grindr said it disputes the claims but acknowledges the emotional distress and loss of trust some UK users expressed over its data handling.
1d ago
Geek Pictures India announced on August 25 that it is working on an original magical-girl anime titled Panchsheela, an India-Japan creative collaboration. The story follows five schoolgirls, Mezi, Kaya, Amba, Zoonie and Tara, chosen as the Panchsheela, magical warriors who each embody the power of a sacred chakra. Guided by their mentor Guru Garu, they battle Negatives, people transformed into Daki Daayan's army, while managing school life.
1d ago
Zevero, a global startup providing sustainability platforms and consulting, supported Nijimachi Co., Ltd., a tomato producer in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, in obtaining B Corp certification. Zevero visualized the farm's greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1-3) and organized its environmental efforts as objective data, lifting the Environment category evaluation. Nijimachi practices circular agriculture using heat and CO2 from an adjacent biogas power generation facility, with 95-100% water use efficiency.
1d ago
A global survey by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, sponsored by Nexthink, found 58% of companies say IT monitoring and governance has not kept pace with employee AI usage. 63% say visibility into informal employee AI use needs improvement, and only 27% report sufficient visibility. 79% cite security and data exposure as the top concern. Companies plan to prioritize AI training (75%) and internal rules (67%) over visibility software (19%).
1d ago
Asuka Publishing will release AI Doga Saizensen, a magazine for AI video creators, at bookstores nationwide on October 6, 2026. Supervised by AICU Japan head Akihiko Shirai, it carries exclusive interviews with 12 key figures and companies, including KLab, which announced the AI anime film The Celebrity Secret, and director Kumiko Endo, whose all-AI feature Matilda: Devil's Gene drew international attention. The 96-page issue covers production methods, costs, and copyright guidance from lawyer Kengo Yabuki.
1d ago
GOG.com is giving away Daedalic Entertainment's SF adventure game State of Mind for free for 72 hours, with distribution expected to end at 22:00 on September 10. The game is set in Berlin in 2048, where pollution and war push governments to upload people into a virtual utopia called City 5. Players control journalist Richard Nolan and five other characters through a conspiracy about humanity's fate. The store page is in English, but the game supports Japanese. A full playthrough runs about 10 hours.
1d ago
The Swiss federal government is building an open-source work environment for about 3,000 employees, targeting availability by the end of 2027. The move follows a pilot called PoC BOSS, in which 172 staff from several ministries tested the openDesk suite. The cabinet judged the tools usable for standard tasks, though large video conferences showed performance limits. The new environment will run in parallel with Microsoft 365, not replace it, and full migration remains undecided.
1d ago
Roman Sands RE:Build, the absurdist apocalypse ADV from Arbitrary Metric, the studio behind IGF award winner Paratopic, launches September 17, 2026 on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox. The game was once described as stuck in eternal release-scheduled status, never to ship. The preview covers two realities: a luxury resort where the player works as a memoryless hotel employee, and a crumbling animal research facility. Price is still unannounced.
1d ago
enableX, a Tokyo business development company, has joined the AI Robot Association (AIRoA) as a supporting member. The company says it will use its operational implementation capability and multimodal AI technology to deepen its knowledge of physical AI social implementation through association activities and member exchanges, and to consider future collaboration. The move targets industries where labor shortages are severe, including manufacturing, logistics, maintenance, medical care, and nursing care.
1d ago
Prodelia Partners, the Tokyo-based PMM consulting firm, is expanding its PMM JAPAN COMMUNITY to Osaka. The first Kansai event, themed "Kansai's cross-boundary talent, gather," takes place September 28 at Yayoi Inc.'s Osaka office in Yodoyabashi. The move follows the July PMM JAPAN CONFERENCE 2026, which drew more than 600 participants, and a market report showing 87% of companies struggle with GTM. Community membership has surpassed 400.
1d ago
Premium Bandai opens reservations September 8 at 11:00 for three Gunpla kits tied to the MS IGLOO OVAs, all shipping in March 2027. The Zaku Ground Combat Set and Ground Combat Gundam Ground Combat Set, both from MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front, cost 3,080 yen each. The EX Model Hildolfr from MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War returns at 8,580 yen.
1d ago
Kodansha announced that THINKpod, its business video media launched in June 2026, has passed 300,000 subscribers on its official YouTube channel. The company says the channel is drawing support from U35 next-generation business leaders. THINKpod positions itself against the AI era with the concept that knowledge is not meant to be immediately useful, and has editors from various fields act as planning producers for daily free content.
1d ago
The Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break off My Engagement and Now He's All Lovey-Dovey?! manga will change artists. Megumi Dorokawa, known for Share House Nile, takes over from Yone starting with the 17th chapter on September 10, as announced on Kotoko's X account on September 1.