I will stop updating Hoga News

I have not been able to update this blog and Hoga Central main site too much these days.  That is because I have become too busy in my real life, but as all of you know and I know, "busy" is another way of saying "this stuff has become lower in my priority".  And that is really true in my case.

Unlike many other folks who write English blogs about Japanese films, I am not working in the film industry, or professionally writing about it, and I have no intention of going into it.  Japanese film industry is too small to accommodate a half-outsider like me - after all, Japanese total box office (including both foreign and Japanese films) in 2006 was merely 200 bil. yen ($2bil. or so), and even including DVD sales, 2-3 digits smaller than telecom industry that I work as a professional.  And I cannot afford to devote so much time to study about the industry until I become movie professional.  I am sure I cannot make any money there.

So the reason that I started doing this activity 2 years ago, in addition to my personal interest, was because I thought movie/TV contents creation/distribution will be an exciting area to study in the near future, from net/digital industry point of view, which is a part of my coverage area in consulting work.  That exactly happened in the U.S. and many other international markets, with the explosion of YouTube, iTunes video distribution, and many other new forms of degital video contents on the net.   And even the traditional media creators have started to feel both threat and excitement in this new digital contents era.  Except for Japan.

Over in Japan, media people still see YouTube as a criminal act.  Nobody is seriously interested in net  distribution of media contents, and user generated video contents are far and sparce.  Not just industry people, but even among fans, nobody shares my interest in Japan.  Nothing interesting is going on.

As a result, still very few people are interested in what's going on in Japanese movies in English speaking world. There is no excitement.   So eventually I have lost steam.

Through the Hoga sites activities in the past 2 years, I have gotten to know many nice people who are interest in Japanese/Asian movies, and I even got to meet actors and directors.  I really appreciate your support and encouraging words, and without you, I even could not have continued until now.

I will continue to write in some publications, such as Keio newsletter, but am planning to shift my focus more on technology and US matters, instead of movies and Japan matters.

I hope something exciting happens in the future to spark my excitement.  Or maybe someday my work load become so light and I  become bored.  Until that time, Arigato and Sayonara for now!!

Comments

[Chris]

This is really sad news!!!

I really, really loved this website.

After all, Michi did publish my biography of Takako Matsu that I quickly wrote when I was busy working on my MBA in South Korea. It wasn't perfect, but it was a helluva lot better than the hackneyed work that is available in English about Takako Matsu. If I could, I'd radically re-write it.

Unfortunately, I was busy working at my job with the US Army in South Korea and working on my MBA to really put my stamp on her Hoga Home blog. I did manage to get a few comments on her website. Not as many as I wanted, but some. I even sent her a few e-mails with all kinds of questions and suggestions. When Michi did respond (as her busy schedule allowed), it was always a pleasure to read.

Unfortunately, I've been in Iraq for the past year (with four more months to go before I get back to the States). Therefore, I didn't always have the opportunity to get the website to give her feedback and encouragement.

Michi, this was/is/could be a great website.

Michi, there are people out there who are interested in Japanese film.

Unfortunately, from what I can tell (and there are a lot more people more knowledgeable than me about this subject), there is still a lot of resistance from the Japanese film industry itself when it comes to increasing its visibility abroad (outside of Japan). The unfortunate truth is that a lot (in fact, most of it) of Japanese entertainment is meant only for domestic consumption. Just as an example, ever notice that how all of the South Korean TV shows for sale all have English subtitles, but the Japanese TV shows don't? Fuji TV, TBS, and the other networks are losing millions of dollars by not doing this. For films, ticket prices are horribly high in Japan. The costs of making films in Japan (from what I've seen) are also horribly high with the salaries still way low. Yes, the YouTube controversy in Japan is real. Fuji TV, TBS, NHK, and the other major networks don't want you to see all of those video clips--without paying high prices to them (no doubt). Like many people, I'm also tired of seeing Japanese films get butchered by the Hollywood film machine.

Lastly, the Japanese entertainment industry has a tremendous wealth of talent as well. Unfortunately, the talent isn't being harnessed properly and gets wasted. Why aren't Takako Matsu, Yuko Takeuchi, Nanako Matsushima, and Takuya Kimura, for example, not international film stars?

In my opinion, the Japanese entertainment industry (film, TV, and so on) needs to radically re-structure itself. The same could also be said for quite A LOT of other things in Japan. This re-structuring needs to happen in order for Japan to increase its status abroad and remain competitive. This re-structuring needs to happen from the ground up.

Sorry about the long rant at the end there. There's so much I ground I wanted to cover.

I really did enjoy this blog.

Hopefully, Michi will be back.

Chris
Taji, Iraq

[martina_SMO]

thank you for the great work you've done, i will miss this site, but i totally understand your point of view ;_;

Sometimes it seems that the only reason people are interested (WHEN they are interested) in Japanese movies/dramas it's because of all those silly young stars like the Johnny's guys. Sad, sad, sad ç__ç
I hope someday things will be better Best of luck :D

[mahokokolo]

that is sad. i was frequenting to this blog because it was so interesting and resourceful. i hope somebody as skilled and knowledgeale as yourself will pick up on this nich and continue something of this sort. thanks anyways, for collecting all the stuff!

[Haisan]

Very sorry to see you go, Michi. You have a very interesting and useful blog. I am looking forward to your writings about tech subjects.

[Marc McDonald]

re:
>>>As a result, still very few people are >>>interested in what's going on in Japanese >>>movies in English speaking world.

Say what? This is NOT true. There's a huge audience out there for Japanese films and anime, worldwide. Personally, I think Japan is going through a bit of a "golden era" for its cinema. Japanese film-goers would agree: Japan is one of the few nations on Earth where the locals prefer domestic films.
Last but not least, Hollywood is creatively bankrupt these days. Most Hollywood films are dogsh*t these days---in fact, this is what spurred me to look to indie and overseas films (and I'd suspect I'm not alone).
Hollywood itself has a great deal of interest in Japanese film....look at all the (vast inferior) remakes of Japan's films for the English market ("Ringu" "Dark Water", etc.).

[Yekaterina]

I'm very sad to know you stops to write your blog. I like Japan cinema and got used already to read it - to learn some fresh news about it.

Hope you'll be back one day. Good luck!

[Brian]

I just want to add my thanks as well for the blog over the past while - read it all the time to find out what is happening in Japanese film - a valued resource and I will miss it. Good luck.

[jasongray]

Sorry to see you pack up, Michi-san -- I hope you'll leave the site intact as the archive of information is quite valuable!

Best of luck,
Jason

[dez]

it seems we really need to learn japanese now. :(

[logboy]

well, you've done a good job. if it's a case of it being time consuming having to write and manage, i am sure there's other sites that would be glad to have you onboard...

[GoldenRock]

Sad to see this blog go, especially since it's been a great source of news for Japanese cinema for me. I hope you're on to greater and better things, and I hope something good will happen in Japanese cinema that would bring you back.

Gokurosama deshita. Arigatou gozaimasu!

[Natzo]

Well, I've been reading this blog almost ever since it started, although I've never made any comments. And it's a real shame that my first may be my last.

Let me start by saying that this site is a fantastic resource for Japanese cinema -- a true rarity at this time -- and will be sorely missed. That said, I'd have to agree with how you feel. As a kid compared to all the other cinephiles, cinema is strictly a hobby and I, too, have no aspirations to go into the field. So the best of luck to you in the future although I hope that your passion will be rekindled.

[2triky]

Dayem. I loved this site and it's fresh English content regarding Japanese cinema. Your efforts will be sorely missed! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts over the past year or so.

As they say in Osaka, "Okini."

[Don]

Say it isn't so, Michi! There are already so few English-language sources of Japanese film news out there, so it's a real shame to see you go. Then again, I've always been amazed at how you were able to write for this blog despite all the other demands on your time, so it's perfectly understandable. Hope to see you around the web in your other incarnations. Otsukaresama deshita!

[James]

Thanks for all the great updates, and best of luck in the future!