Japan culture promotion body launched in Brazil+

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 9 Kyodo -
A group of Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro has launched an organization to promote
contemporary Japanese culture, such as J-pop, ''manga'' comics and anime.

In response to the Japanese Consulate General's call for establishing such a
body, Brazilian student groups launched the Instituto Japao Pop Br, or the
J-pop Brazil association, with support from the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a
Brazilian government-backed research institute.
The student groups and the Getulio Vargas Foundation will jointly operate the
association, which is the first Japanese culture promotion body in South
America, the consulate general in Rio de Janeiro said.
The association has about 50 core members, mainly students.
It plans to regularly stage costume-play parties and karaoke singing
competitions in a bid to deepen understanding of Japanese culture.
Japanese culture has won popularity among young Brazilians. Brazilian teams
have twice won the World Cosplay Summit, a Japanese Foreign Ministry-backed
annual costume-play competition held in Nagoya, central Japan.
Association leader Pedro Carvalho, a 21-year-old student, said J-pop and
Japanese anime are the key to understanding Japanese youth culture. ''I'd like
to spread Japanese culture more in Brazil,'' Carvalho said.
==Kyodo