This lecture (in English) will be held Thursday, May 26 at 7:00 at Lakeland University in Ryogoku, Tokyo. It will also be streamed via Zoom.

"Konnichiwa, Amigo!"; How Mexican Otaku Evolved from Fans into Entrepreneurs, presented by Edgar Pelaez

Anime has been present on Mexican TV since the 1960s, but it wasn't until the 1990s, in the middle of the global craze for Japanese content, that Mexican spectators became really involved in the consumption of Japanese animation. After Japanese content retired from the mainstream media in the early 2000s, becoming available only through illegal sources for more than ten years, fans decided to take matters into their hands and get more involved in the distribution of anime and related products by starting their own companies. Through trial and error, these entrepreneurial fans have discovered the ways of doing business in Japan and matched them with the demands of the Mexican market, becoming cultural intermediaries creating a second "boom" of anime in Mexico. This lecture will show how these entrepreneurs have constructed a bridge between the Japanese anime producers and the Mexican consumers, becoming a central piece in the distribution of this and other Japanese contents in Mexico.

Edgar Peláez is PhD candidate in International Studies at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies of Waseda University. He specializes in the Cool Japan Strategy, Japanese popular culture and creative industries. In 2012 he obtained the /Monbukagakusho/ Scholarship and wasofficially appointed as CoFesta Ambassador by METI and the Japan International Contents Festival (CoFesta) Executive Committee. In 2016 he was appointed as "Cool Japan Ambassador" by Japan's Prime Minister Cabinet Office. He has done extensive research about the influence of Anime and Manga in Mexico, their distribution and fan communities.

--To attend the event in person, there is no need to register. For a map and directions to Lakeland's Ryogoku campus, see our website: https://luj.lakeland.edu/contact

**Our in-person guests are asked to follow the usual masking and social-distancing health protocols

--To join on Zoom, please register here (before 5PM on the day of the event). You will be emailed a link that afternoon.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YUItWdZMfMdKJ51dCPMlXtVKoEKX5IA_XZU8ot_86YQ/edit


Lakeland Lectures are a forum for researchers, students and members of the public to discuss contemporary issues affecting Japan. Lakeland University has offered a U.S.-accredited liberal arts program in Tokyo since 1991. Lakeland's main campus is in Wisconsin, USA and was founded in 1862.


--
Roger Grabowski, Jr.
Assistant Professor of General Studies
Lakeland University Japan