After an all-out four-day weekend in Los Angeles, Anime Expo closed its doors for another year on July 5. Finally, Marc Perez  has a few moments to breathe. “The hours are very nice a couple of months out of the year,” the CEO of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), says of his job. Then it’s another 11 months of pre-con crunch time.

The Obama administration quietly brought in a group of Iranian musicians to learn about American folk music. It was a small diplomatic gesture, but one the White House hoped would help ease tensions between the U.S. and Iran, two longtime foes. 

I first realized the extent to which the word “kawaii” had spread across the world untranslated and come to be regarded as a verbal symbol of Japan when I served as a producer for the Kawaii Ambassadors (Cute ambassadors) program in fiscal 2009. Wherever we went, Kawaii Ambassadors were fervently welcomed. In Recife, Brazil, about 20,000 people turned out at an open-air venue to see them.

"The art of photography can build a bridge between cultures and carry our collaboration forward. 'Concept: Turkey' is a very important event in terms of the meeting of two different cultures," Türkoğlu said. He also invited everyone who is interested in photography to become a part of the project in order to introduce the Turkish way of life as well as culture to the Americans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed terrorism and climate change as the biggest problems faced by the world saying the solutions to these can be found in Mahatma Gandhi's life and ideals. [...] Modi also expressed hope that people of Turkmenistan will learn about the ideals and life of Mahatma Gandhi.