InsideJapan News Network

A Tokyo University graduate has been officially recognised as one of 13 world-class Lego builders after his reconstruction of a Japanese battleship.

Junpei Mitsui used the branded toy blocks to create a model of Yamato, a Second World War battleship, among other intricate designs, Mainichi Daily reported.

Lego, a Denmark-based group, made Mr Mitsui the first Japanese person to receive the honour.

Speaking to the paper, the 24-year-old said: "I want to engage in projects that have a powerful impact and work with education that uses Lego."

Upon starting university, Mr Mitsui quickly set up a Lego club where he took inspiration from the establishment's Yasudakodo lecture hall and Akamon gate to begin paving his way to Lego fame.

On top of these, he also built a life-size depiction of the cartoon character Doraemon and even made reconstructions of World Heritage buildings for charity fund raisers.

Coming from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, the student's work was further reward by Tokyo University.

Last week the world's largest girl group, Japanese-based AKB48, added the newest member to their band after digitally creating her.

Since then, an application has been launched to allow mobile device users to build their own member for the group, using the same techniques used to create Eguchi Aimi.

Written by Susan Ballion  


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