{"id":1540,"date":"2026-08-17T14:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakeland-u.jp\/masters\/?p=1540"},"modified":"2026-08-14T14:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:35:20","slug":"lakeland-university-japan-dean-emeritus-dr-alan-brender-publishes-book-about-japanese-pop-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakeland-u.jp\/masters\/lakeland-university-japan-dean-emeritus-dr-alan-brender-publishes-book-about-japanese-pop-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakeland University Japan Dean Emeritus Dr. Alan Brender Publishes Book About Japanese Pop-Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Alan Brender has published a new book, available now from HeadPress Books, titled&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/headpress.com\/product\/pink-tsunami\/\"><strong>Pink Tsunami:&nbsp;The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave That Has Swept The World.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Brender was instrumental in bringing Lakeland University Japan to where it is today. From 2006 to 2022, Dr. Brender served as Dean of LUJ, directing its transformation from a 2-year college in Shinjuku to an established&nbsp;4-year university now in Ryogoku.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No stranger to the world of publishing, Dr. Brender is the author of over 20 books, but&nbsp;<em>Pink Tsunami<\/em>&nbsp;might be his most ambitious. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/luj.lakeland.edu\/post\/the-serendipitous-life-of-dr-alan-brender-2024-02-24\"><strong>serendipitous dean and global traveler<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;compiled hundreds of sources and completed interviews to deliver a comprehensive narrative history about the cultural legacy of Hello Kitty, a character now over a half-century old.&nbsp;\u201cI wrote the book,\u201d Dr. Brender explains in its preface, \u201cbecause I am interested in the character as a cultural phenomenon that originated in Japan, but gained international fame.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Chapter 1 of the book, Dr. Brender is quick to place Hello Kitty in the pantheon of cartoon legend greats. \u201cShe\u2019s probably the most popular female cartoon character in the world. Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Peppa Pig, an anthropomorphic British piglet, don\u2019t hold a candle to her. She\u2019s neck and neck, sometimes slightly ahead, and sometimes slightly behind Mickey Mouse as the most popular global cartoon animal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book can also be&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Pink-Tsunami-Hello-Kitty-Kawaii\/dp\/1915316413\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1A71ZA3N7M4EI&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0XScJANBn1ddqfY2hCVs4nezkoX5-cKJpVUTvtkaVUaM5M1zHfF08uCB-oqzLLOO.mVuPZG65O8_e8cVJlZeKNAtiGorNQoz2XkyunoDJJYk&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=Alan+Brender&amp;qid=1785805079&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=alan+brende%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C282&amp;sr=1-1\"><strong>purchased on Amazon.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July,\u00a0Dr. Brender\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/newbooksnetwork.com\/pink-tsunami\"><strong>spoke with Rebekah Buchanan<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for New Books Network about\u00a0<em>Pink Tsunami.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:start;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:start;}.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-md, 2rem);padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id1540_d12c68-36 alignnone has-theme-palette7-background-color kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top\">\n<style>.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column1540_3081be-2c > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1540_3081be-2c\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1783994781036\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Q: Who is Dr. Alan Brender and what is his connection to Lakeland University Japan (LUJ)?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><strong>A:<\/strong> Dr. Alan Brender served as the Dean of Lakeland University Japan from 2006 to 2022. He was instrumental in the institution&#8217;s growth, directing its transformation from a two-year college in Shinjuku into the established four-year university it is today in Ryogoku. He is also a global traveler and a prolific author with over 20 published books.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1783994904747\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\"><strong>Q: What is Dr. Brender&#8217;s new book <em>Pink Tsunami<\/em> about?<\/strong><\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\"><strong>A:<\/strong> Published by HeadPress Books, <em>Pink Tsunami: The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave That Has Swept The World<\/em> is a comprehensive narrative history exploring the half-century cultural legacy of Hello Kitty. Dr. Brender compiled hundreds of sources and interviews to examine how the character originated in Japan and grew into an international cultural phenomenon that rivals global icons like Mickey Mouse. The book is currently available for purchase on Amazon.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1784095745678\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What American\u00a0undergraduate degree programs does Lakeland University Japan offer?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">\u2022 B.A. Business Administration<br>\u2022 B.S. Data Science<br>\u2022 B.A. Hospitality Management<br>\u2022 B.A. Management<br>\u2022 B.A. Communication<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1784095974963\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What American postgraduate degree programs does Lakeland University Japan offer?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">\u2022 M.B.A. Masters of Business Administration<br>\u2022 M.S. &#8211; Leadership and Organizational Development<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Alan Brender has published a new book, available now from HeadPress Books, titled&nbsp;Pink Tsunami:&nbsp;The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave That Has Swept The World.&nbsp; Dr. Brender was instrumental in bringing Lakeland University Japan to where it is today. From 2006 to 2022, Dr. Brender served as Dean of LUJ, directing its transformation from a 2-year&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lakeland University Japan Dean Emeritus Dr. Alan Brender Publishes Book About Japanese Pop-Culture - Lakeland University Japan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lakeland-u.jp\/masters\/lakeland-university-japan-dean-emeritus-dr-alan-brender-publishes-book-about-japanese-pop-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lakeland University Japan Dean Emeritus Dr. Alan Brender Publishes Book About Japanese Pop-Culture - Lakeland University Japan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Alan Brender has published a new book, available now from HeadPress Books, titled&nbsp;Pink Tsunami:&nbsp;The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave That Has Swept The World.&nbsp; Dr. Brender was instrumental in bringing Lakeland University Japan to where it is today. 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He was instrumental in the institution's growth, directing its transformation from a two-year college in Shinjuku into the established four-year university it is today in Ryogoku. 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