Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Meet Saki, Noriko and 'Shalom Chan,' characters in the new anime produced by Israel's Embassy in Japan.

How does one say “Israeli anime” in Japanese? More than a few locals and most of the foreign service staff at Israel’s Embassy to Japan are going to find out very shortly.

For those readers familiar with Miyazaki, Israel’s newest and most novel effort at outreach to the Far East will entrance and amuse.

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For those who have no idea what Miyazaki is, it is best to simply click on the video clip below – the first of seven to be produced — and watch. (Ed. – Turn on the closed captioning so you know what they’re saying.)

‘Shalom Chan’ hops in and out of the colorful, airbrushed animated series to provide quick facts about Israel for the viewers as the animated sisters, Saki and Noriko take their trip through the Holy Land.

Embassy spokesperson Ronen Mezdinni told Ynet the feedback from the project has been “unprecedented” and said the video has received “massive media attention all across Japan. The main goal is to showcase the lighter and original aspects of Israeli society all the while paying homage and respect to Japanese popular culture.”

Japanese pilgrims have been coming to Israel for many years. This is the first time, however, the foreign ministry has made a concerted effort to attract tourism from Japan, whose heritage is ancient, like that of Israel.

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.