Navy pulls some effective PR in Japan. That's right, I said effective.

Well done, swabbies.

U.S. Navy distributes manga to Yokosuka residents | Japan Probe:

"The U.S. Navy held a special event in Yokosuka yesterday, handing out free manga about the USS George Washington to Japanese residents:

The first hour was manga madness for “CVN 73,” the Navy’s 200-page comic starring the USS George Washington. The aircraft carrier is scheduled to arrive in Yokosuka this August and will be the first nuclear-propelled ship forward-deployed to Japan.

Sailors handed out about 800 copies of “CVN 73″ in three hours in the manga’s first day of distribution. More will be handed out at upcoming open base events, said Waterman, a spokesman for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan.

“The response has been phenomenal,” Waterman said. “People told me that if we passed out a brochure or a tri-fold, they wouldn’t read it. But with a manga, we’re speaking their language.”"

You can download a PDF of the English version here.

And the Japanese language edition here.