Seiji Horibuchi (Hokubei Mainichi photo)

The Japan Society of Northern California will present Part 5 in the Zadankai Series, “Bringing Japanese Popular Culture to America,” on Tuesday, Oct. 14, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Viz Media LLC, 295 Bay St. in San Francisco.

Beginning with a small manga publishing company in San Francisco’s South of Market area for more than 20 years, Seiji Horibuchi laid the foundation for multimedia company Viz Media, a powerhouse in manga, anime and pop culture merchandising. He will discuss the creation of the J-pop boom in America as construction proceeds on the new Viz J-Pop Center in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Horibuchi moved to the U.S. in 1975 right after graduation from Waseda University in Tokyo and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. He founded Viz Communications Inc. in 1986, with the help of Shogakukan Inc., one of Japan’s leading publishers.

Viz Communications was the forerunner of the company now known as Viz Media LLC, where Horibuchi serves as founder/co-chairman. He founded Viz Pictures Inc. in 2005 as a spin-off company of Viz Media to promote Japanese films for American audiences.

Throughout his career, Horibuchi has devoted himself to developing Japanese pop culture in the U.S.

The cost for this part of the series is $35 for Japan Society members and $50 for non-members. Lunch will be provided courtesy of Viz Media. Deadline to RSVP is Tuesday, Oct. 7. Refunds will not be made after this date.

For more information on the Zadankai Series or to purchase tickets for the event, call (415) 986-4383 or visit www.usajapan.org.