On June 8th, the Osaka Prefecture Police Department (OPPD) Juvenile Section conducted a comprehensive investigation of 70 bookshops and convenience stores.

The goal of the inspection was to check the availability of Shoujo manga that were labeled as "harmful book" due to their excessive sexual contents. According to the report, the OPPD displayed special interest in shojo manga that contain excessive sexual contents that can't be seen on their covers.

Source: Jiji Tsushin

Tech On! reports that Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL) has announced a new system that can automatically create manga from blog entries and other texts based on symbols and registered keywords:

The system estimates the writer's emotions and makes up several pages of multiple-frame manga based on facial expressions written with symbols, the frequency of "!" and "?" appearances and pre-registered keywords.

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On June 10th, 4-koma mangaka Taizo Yokoyama (90) passed away in his home in Kanagawa Prefecture. The cuase of death was pneumonia. Taizo Yokoyama is known for his 4-koma (four-panel) political manga Shakai Gi-hyou (Social Satire).

Source: Yomiuri Online

Anime news and review website Active Anime announced today that it is now compatible with wireless devices:

Active Anime is now PDA / Mobile Phone friendly. Now you can now read our news, reviews and articles with your wireless device while you’re on the go! Image below is what you will see from your wireless device. Image is from a Windows Mobile® Smartphone.

The World Cosplay Summit Brazilian Stage took place on June 9th, and the winners are Marcelo and Thaís, who cosplayed as Naraku/InuYasha and Sesshomaru.

Brazilian publisher JBC, who promoted the event, used the occasion to introduce its new manga: Death Note. JBC's Julio Moreno announced that they plan to unveil two more titles soon, one shoujo and the other shonen.

A full report of the event can be found on Papo de Budega.

Source:
- Papo de Budega
- Shoujo Cafe

The Japanese blog "Justification of Information, Print Media or Story Addiction" (Information Addiction) has posted an article looking at the total number of pages of manga that appears in magazines monthly. According to a study from Media Research Center published in May, currently the total number of pages manga magazines in Japan carry sums up to approximately 102,411. A translation of the article can be found here.

Kadokawa Shoten has opened the official site for its BL (boy's love) light novel label Ruby Bunko at: www.kadokawa.co.jp/ruby/

The official website of Comic Yoshimoto has finally been launched by Yoshimoto Kogyo at: www.comicyoshimoto.jp/
*Note www.comicyoshimoto.jp has been around for a while, but the website had no content until now.

Tokuma Shoten has opened an official website for Animage at: www.tokuma.co.jp/animage/

Dengeki Online and Ultimatum Talk report that ToraDora! and Ookami to Koushinryou, two light novel series published under MediaWork's Dengeki Bunko label, will be adapted into manga.

ToraDora! will be drawn by Zekkyou and will begin serialization in the September issue of Dengeki Comic Gao! (July 27), while Ookami to Koushinryou will be drawn by Koume Keito and will serialize in Dengeki Maoh starting with the November issue (September 27).

Source: LightNovel.org

Episode 42 of Right Stuf's Anime Today podcast features an interview with Shojo Beat Editor-in-Chief Marc Weidenbaum and Senior Editor Megan Bates:

In this new interview, Weidenbaum and Bates discuss the publication's history, the role reader feedback plays in editorial decisions, how female readers are driving the U.S. manga market, and what the future holds for Shojo Beat as the magazine celebrates its second anniversary and kicks off its third year.

A full press release can be found on Active Anime.

From Comic Book Resources comes Top Cow's schedule at this year's Wizard World Philadelphia, taking place in the Pennsylvania Convention Center from June 15th-17th. Top Cow has announced many exclusive contents for the convention, including Witchblade Takeru #5 featuring a new cover by Eric Basaldua.