Before Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, media commentators were asking why the new Hollywood theme park wasn't called Universal Studios Osaka. After all, Tokyo Disneyland isn't called Japan Disneyland. Here's the punch line: If they called it Universal Studios Osaka, the acronym would be USO, which means "lie" in Japanese.
The overdone joke, like the overdone coverage, characterizes not only the new park's relationship to the region where it's situated, but also its debt to that other sanctuary of uber-American culture in Japan, the one that's been expanding like a sinkhole in Urayasu for close to two decades.
Since the beginning of the year, the media have been inundated with features and specials about USJ. Legitimate news shows have run lengthy, almost identical puff pieces about the park's attractions and the projected economic windfall it will bring to Osaka. Somewhere behind this promotional white noise sits Tokyo Disneyland, poised in its proven financial reliability.
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