Given the high interest in podcasting, why doesn’t it surprise me that makers of AudioBlog, one of the podcasting playas’ is getting investment dollars from venture capital arm of Trans Cosmos of Japan. Earlier this summer Pod Show raised about $8.5 million from the likes of Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital. Odeo, a company started by Blogger founder Evan Williams raised undisclosed amount of investment from Charles River Ventures and other influential angels, looking to get some podcasting pixie dust. Audioblog was started by the always eclectic and often entertaining Eric Rice. The company has licensed its Audioblog technology to J-Stream, which is like mobile-phone focused Akamai of Japan. Now if the super-duper success of Six Apart is Japan is any indication, Rice might have caught on to a winning wave.