Kouji Kumeta is known for the manga Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, which was adapted into an anime last year and is currently serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine.

In chapter 118 of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Kumeta wrote:

"if Jump SQ shows intention to collaborate, I may consider creating a new fantasy manga for it."

Since then, rumors and discussions about a new Kumeta manga on Shueisha's Jump SQ have been steadily heating up.

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Jari Chevalier from Living Hero writes in to announce that Living Hero will be conducting an interview with Dan Pink, who recently announced his intention to write a career guide manga titled The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, towards the end of February:

I'm writing to you and others in advance to give you a chance to participate in the formation of the interview questions. Just type your question into the question box widget on the right column of the page.

The Labor Party reports that Free Agent Nation author Dan Pink, who has lived in Japan for a period of time, will be writing a 160-page manga about career advice titled The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need. The book will be released on April 1st, 2008.

Source: theOtaku

Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Adds Quan and Wong

Anaheim, California (January 2, 2008) ‹ The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the overseeing body of the nation's largest anime/manga convention (Anime Expo®) announces two (2) new additions to the current Board of Directors. More information can be found on the website www.spja.org.

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Tokyopop has posted several new job openings on the Job Seekers section of its website:

• Associate Brand Manager
• Director of Brand Marketing
• Project Manager
• Jr. Editor
• Online Marketing Specialist
• Web Production Associate
• Manager, Financial and Planning

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TokoToko Editor's Misc. Note, a blog run by a female manga editor who has been in the business for over 15 years, has posted a multi-part article titled "The Reason I Quit as a Manga Editor." Below is a translation of the fifth and final part of the article:

The Reason I Quit My Job as a Manga Editor Part V

So, I quit as a manga editor and became a professional editor. Just as my trial period at the professional job was up, I was accepted as a contracted employee at the company I'm with now. I was skeptical about the "contract" bit, but it did mean my pay would go up, so I went for the cash.

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Ultimatum Tidbits points out a post from Yamamoto Atsuji, which revealed that mangaka Noboru Miyama passed away on December 2nd at the age of 51. Noboru Miyama is responsible for titles such as Mefisuto, Pikaichi and Reira.

ANN reports that Detective Conan creator Gosho Aoyama and voice actress Minami Takayama have divorced:

Various newspapers in Japan have reported on Monday morning that voice actress Minami Takayama (Detective Conan's Conan, Kiki's Delivery Service's Kiki and Ursula) and manga creator Gosho Aoyama (Detective Conan/Case Closed) have divorced. [...] Takayama's agency released a statement that said, "Due to the private nature [of this matter], we have no comment."

ANN reports that mangaka Susumu Katsumata, winner of the Grand Prize of the 35th Japanese Cartoonists' Association Awards, passed away on December 3rd due to melanoma:

He was 63 years old. Only close family members and relatives will be requested to attend his funeral, and his chief mourner will be his oldest son Daichi.

Mangaka Keiichiro Oki has passed away on November 19th. Keiichiro Oki is mostly known for his pachinko and pachisuro manga.