The current outbreak of the “new type influenza virus” (as H1N1 is callled in the Japanese media) is having a negative effect on an unexpected area, the nation’s blood supply, and the Japan Red Cross is reporting that levels of blood in Japan is at an all-time low. But the Red Cross in Akihabara has come up with an innovative way to get Japan’s millions of otaku to open a vein for a good cause: using the popular Vocaloid character Miku Hatsune. The office has been renovated to look like some kind of futuristic space, with beautiful lights and dozens of Vocaloid-related toys and figures on display, including a real 3D hologram that fans can gaze at. They can watch Miku-chan performing her eerily beautiful computer-generated songs on TV while blood is drawn, and Miku thanks them when they’re done.
The Akihabara branch of the Red Cross uses Miku Hatsune to get more blood donations — smart.
