Japan Business Federation Wants Government to Publicize Anime, Manga

Deutsche Welle (a.k.a. DW), an international media outlet from Germany, published an article not only about manga’s growth and possibilities, but also about manga’s growth in America. According to DW, the Japan business federation known as Keidanren has written a proposal for the Japanese government to use its power toward aggressively publicizing anime, manga, games and other forms of pop culture. Keidanren’s dream is to make sales of Japanese properties quadruple outside of Japan in the next decade.

“Fifteen years ago, Japanese business leaders sneered at the idea that manga and anime could become an important export sector for Japan, but that generation has now retired and been replaced by people who ‘get it’ when it comes to manga,” Japanamerica author and journalist Roland Kelts said to DW. “At present, Japan is the unchallenged world leader in anime and manga and Keidanren is right to get behind it as a driver of the economy.”

As an example of anime and manga’s success outside of Japan, DW looked toward sales in America. Thanks in part to COVID, manga sales have exploded in the United States. And whereas in Japan successful manga can lead to an anime adaptation, in places like America an interest in a specific anime can lead people to checking out the manga source material.

“I was stunned when I saw the figures for 2020 and 2021, which showed that year-on-year manga sales in the US were up by 171%,” Kelts said to DW. “That’s just an astonishing figure, and the figures made it clear that the overall graphic novel market grew much faster than the standard market for books.”

Professor of media and communications at Hokkaido University Makoto Watanabe told DW about manga’s appeal: “There are, of course, some negatives, such as excessive violence in some manga, but on the whole I believe strong storylines and images, that appeal to everyone from school kids to salarymen, help to communicate many of the essential elements in life, and they are a valuable resource.”

Source: DW

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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.