The Embassy of Japan celebrates the annual Philippines-Japan Friendship Month with music and movies at the SM Mall of Asia this month.

A joint project of the Embassy of Japan, the Japan Foundation Manila, the SM Mall of Asia, and SM Cinema, the two-day event commemorates 56 years of longstanding cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.  The Philippines-Japan Friendship Month is celebrated every July with July 23 as Japan Day.

The Grand Finals of the J-pop Anime Singing Contest on the Music Hall, on its fourth year and with freestyle as theme, was a venue for Filipino amateur performers of all ages who could sing their favorite J-pop or anime songs in Japanese.

There’s more young fun ahead with the awarding of a Mini-Cosplay Contest wherein 15 finalists will have the chance to dress up as their beloved anime characters, an anime making demonstration by Toei Animation Philippines, and meet and greet sessions with Doraemon and Nobita.

The Japanese Embassy’s will also perform during the event, which includes Japanese food tasting by Yoshinoya.

Japanese animated films created magic at the mall with the screenings of Full Metal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos and Detective Conan: The Last Ship in the Sky on July 22 at Cinema 6.

FullMetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos is about a fictional world where alchemy is fully accepted.  It tells the story of a young alchemist named Fullmetal and his adventures with his brother, who wants to restore their bodies after a failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky is about Jimmy Kudo, a young detective who was transformed into a child after being poisoned.  The movie chronicles Kudo’s battles with mysterious bacteria that he must prevent from spreading.

These events were co-organized by the Embassy of Japan, Japan Foundation Manila, the SM Mall of Asia, and SM Cinema.  It had support from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines, the Nihongo Center Foundation, the Animation International Licensing Philippines, Center for Pop Music, Toei Animation Philippines, Yoshinoya, Ajinomoto, Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and Yakult.

HERO TV was the media partner.