And so it begins. "U.S. company challenges Japan to a giant-robot battle."

*Updated* - Oh.  It's ON.

USA vs. Japan Part II: Giant robot duel accepted - CNN.com: "On Sunday... Suidobashi CEO Kogoro Kurata responded, saying, "I'll fight. Absolutely." The MegaBots challenge gives both teams a year to make the modifications necessary to engage in robot-on-robot combat. "It's interesting, I'll give them that," Kurata said in a video response posted on YouTube and the company's Facebook page on July 5...

Referring to a rich -- if fictional -- history of giant robots, or "mecha" as they are known in Japan, Kurata explained that the country's pride was at stake. "We can't let another country win this," he said. "Giant robots are Japanese culture."

...Kurata clearly feels that there is a patriotic element at stake -- and has a way to ensure Kuratas' dominance. He suggests that robo-primacy would only emerge if the two robots were able to slug it out in "melee combat." "I want to punch them to scrap and knock them down to do it," Kurata said."

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Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources: "After introducing the MegaBot Mark II, “America’s first fully functional giant piloted robot,” there was really only one thing left for MegaBots Inc. to do:  Challenge Japan to a giant-robot battle. Seriously, if you had a mecha what would you do? Build public-works projects? Hell no, you’d fight other robots! For America! To that end, the gang at MegaBots, whose sole purpose is to create giant piloted fighting robots, has released the most patriotic video you’ll see this week (yes, I know it’s Fourth of July weekend), throwing down the gauntlet to Japan’s Suidobashi Heavy Industry, which has its own fully functional mecha."