A few days after it stood by as the anime industry was humiliatingly singled out for a ban, the Japanese government is now announcing a plan to quadruple anime and game exports.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, historically notorious for interfering with any industry it thinks it can run better than the private sector, has decreed that as part of its “Cool Japan” strategy the nation’s content industries will increase their exports fourfold by 2020.
The very cool sounding “Cool Japan Public-Private Advisory Council” is looking to oversee an increase in “cultural” exports (singling out content industries such as anime and games, as well as fashion and food) of between 2 to 4 times, to as much as 200 billion dollars from the current 50 billion. It expects anime, games and so forth to account for some 35 billion dollars of this total.
It estimates the total size of the global market for such “cultural” goods will double in the same period, to 11 trillion dollars.
The scheme would see affected industries forced to endure “public-private partnerships” (i.e. businesses doing what civil servants tell them to, or else) in pursuit of growth, a strategy which has been the cornerstone of Japanese industrial policy in the post-war period, with mixed results – most notably, the ministry’s predecessor actually tried to stop Sony from producing electronics and Honda from producing cars.
Successful animation, comic and gaming industries are of course not known for state involvement – quite the contrary in fact.
Having Japan’s incompetent yet depressingly numerous civil servants and politicians try to take over the anime and game industries may in fact be the last thing they need, particularly with the state’s main interest in these industries so far being nothing but a series of efforts to ban and censor them, or bully them into “voluntary restraints.”
Coming just after the publishing industry was subjected to humiliating treatment at the hands of Tokyo’s government, it does seem likely that the ministry will find the industry less than welcoming at this stage – and what better way to start the plan off than by the cancellation of the Tokyo International Anime Fair?
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Before ban:
Who cares about America? All they want are their big guns. They don't care about our manga/games
After ban:
Hey America you know i was kidding right? So how about you buy more of our stuff. You know boost the economy
and by then our response would be "what anime and manga? oh wait, you mean that industry that you killed and now its a zombie the government controls?"
"Ya mean that henna stuff"
" no no we banned it"
" so you ya banned pokemone"
"that's not hentai or porn related"
"are you kidding my have ya seen the way Ash looks a pikachu and why isn't incredibly muscular I can't have my kid watch this"
Wait a second, they pass a bill to Limit Anime, now they are saying they are gonna Quadruple it?
Their Logic makes no sense at all.
that's japan for you lol
you mean "thats government for you", where common sense does not exist
It wasn't the government of Japan directly, it was politicians from Tokyo.
Yeah, but any anime or manga which is banned in Tokyo (the biggest market in all of Japan for anime and manga) is de facto banned in the rest of Japan.
It's like if Funimation got a license to distribute Panty & Stocking in the US but were prohibited from selling it in CA or the northeast corridor - the rest of the country would wind up unable to get P&S if Funi were banned from selling it where most of their customers live as Funi wouldn't waste their money selling a million copies of P&S per state in states with less than a million people.
[that said, i'm really looking forward to a US release of P&S, which hopefully will NOT be banned in CA or the northeast]
It's a bit like federal vs state.
It's something that is to be expected since Ishihara is backed by the a faction of the LDP, the DPJ seems to be doing this to shore up a larger support from the industry as well as an attempt in making themselves look like "the good guy" by appealing to a demographic that is clearly sidelined by Ishihara (read: LDP).
I'm not sure if this is a good move by the DPJ, though I don't see any immediate or even long term political fallout coming out from this
I guess the ban makes sense if they are going to try to clean up the stuff in manga/anime/games that may be frowned upon by an international audience
Clean up...
I don't know why the fuck Hellsing can be sold in america without any censorship.
That is because it is 2 separate entities that decided each. Also the Prime Minister of Japan doesn't agree with what the Tokyo governor is doing.
To be honest I'm actually surprised since I assume the majority of sankaku readers are Americans who should be familiar with differences between local government and national government which is clearly the case here.
or is it the case of a failing of the education system resulting in failure in reading comprehension?
I don't think it's a failure in reading comprehension, it's just a failure of education in general.
American schools don't teach students about government anymore. It's only WWII, Cold War, and some international stuff.
i dont know about you, but as far as i understand it, its like having Hollywood ban the making of movies, and then the US government saying that they will increase exports of US movies. it just makes no sense why they would think its possible.
well remember that the comparison i made up there is actually not that great, but you should be able to understand what im trying to get at.
Majority of sankaku readers are probably mostly Americans, and I suppose of a somehow good education. However, considering that US has an estate centred and republican government rather than a federal centred and parliament government, certain differences may not seem clear to many Americans.
Or like I heard once, do not tribute malice for something that can be explained by stupidity, or similar sentence.
Americans, Britons and Asians. Most likely in that order with a few here and there from other countries.
So this is like saber-rattling.
The mayor makes scary noises, "I'm going to beat up otaku."
So the Prime Minister says, "Those otaku are my otaku, don't screw with my vassals."
And now the public-private middlemen are running out into the streets screaming, "Long live the Prime Minister! We live to protect the beloved otaku of the Prime Minister!"
The middlemen are just trying to make a big show of being enthusiastic, like an office lady pretending to run/trot to the copying machine.
"the Japanese government is now announcing a plan to quadruple anime and game exports."
I jizzed
I did too and then I read on and realized that the government will try to control all the anime and then I shit my pants and started crying ;_;
I stopped in Japanese government...
The government ITSELF is the problem!!!
Oh japan..nice to have met you...have a safe trip...
"the Japanese government is now announcing a plan to quadruple anime and game exports."
If I had any reason to believe that was true and they could succeed, then I WOULD be excited.
"Quadruple" wow. Not triple, not double, but QUADRUPLE. If they knew what was next after quadruple they'd surely say that instead.
Really? Is this the best thing Japan can come up with? Just boycott the government for goodness' sakes.
sigh... when moralists and crap use the government to their whims you get completely stupid things done...
i HIGHLY doubt that the anime industry will somehow be 4x bigger by that time period, considering how the global economy is shifting, i see the industry staying about the same or slightly increasing, but 4x is a stretch, especially when you start introducing government mandates and laws and crap...
this brings me to the FCC here in the USA, i personally think they are a useless organization and should be disbanded. one of the things they wish to do is get rid of net neutrality, if stupid moralists ranting about their outdated ideals and how everyone is "sinful" and is "going to hell" crap isnt enough, now they are going to censor the internet...
the world is doomed... back into the dark ages we go...
Legalisation restrict freedom of creativity, no freedom of creativity = no improvement in Quality = no sales
Provide what the market wants and your sales will go quadruple..
Noo~! Then Anime and Manga will lose its own identity as a Japanese product.. The industy will be force to target foreginer market tastes.. The plot and story will change to suit foreginer market.. This plan may fail.. Just like how Dragon Ball, Astro Ball, etc made by USA.. Input of other culture will fail the product.. I want Japanese culture product.. Not international anime/ manga..
Anonymous
14:49
the examples you gave were influenced by america, but were still japanese at heart.
now just imagine stuff like afro samurai, which i believe was made in japan, but was basically an american product.
now imagine japan handling what makes american want it, and you can see how fucked the product will be. and they would run the industry into the ground before they learned from mistakes.
Anonymous
14:49
the fcc... yea. their war on obscenity needs to fucking stop, however their other job, is what they need to focus on. like them or not their other job is a required one that someone needs to do.
i have faith in their compatance in that arena, as they have done nothing i know of so far to say otherwise.
and i have faith that if isps start abused number 4, as in force you to pay more pre premium youtube speed, among other things, the law will change.
Shippoyasha
16:39
those are settings, you dont understand at all. look up a game called neir, and THAT is what you should be afraid of.
So, with the (completely unnecessary) involvement of the government Japan's animation will soon resemble politically correct old American cartoons, yes?
Expect to see toy-like weapons in your Gunslinger Girl, Saban's Sailor Moon and moral messages at the end of your Yasuga No Sora.
Speaking of foreign influenced anime, Gunslingers Girls series is generally great (even the new Teatrino) and Aria series was largely based on Venice of Italy.
That said, I feel the anime and manga industries should stand up and shout outrage. I know I wouldn't want Japan to have the notoriety for civil complaints the way France does, but sometimes, the industries should try to put up a defiant stance against stymieing of creative content and creative freedoms.
Japan is one of the countries to have the crappiest government in the world.
Yes, there may be production foreign anime and manga, but Japanese manga would still be favored by majority.
imho it doesn't deserve to be called "anime" or "manga" if it is produced abroad Japan.
"American" manga? What, the Amazing Spiderman?
There will probly many attempts, yes, but I disagree that anime would lose it's identity.
Japanese creators can go to Korea, US, Canada, etc.
You can outsource that way too. Outsource yourself from your own govt.
How will they achieve this if it doesn't have the sex that the rest of the world crave?
After Quadruple comes Quintuple right? Then Sextuplet, Heptathlon, Octogon, Nonogon.... wait... now I'm just naming shapes. =/
when I was at the tokyo international anime fair last year, it was great. except for the empty booths like western animations and korean etc.. 1 of the bigger booth that I've seen but also the most empty of them all was chinese animation. it was so utterly copypasta crap from japanese anime. I pray that chinese does not get its crap out into the world.
@ Anon 14:49 23/12/2010 while i agree with you on certain points about the FCC they are actually trying to ENSURE net neutrality in fact they recently succeeded in making it so it is illegal for you're IP to limit access to certain sites such as bittorrent. In short yeah they suck giant tentacle monster balls in regards to TV they are useful for the internet in some ways at least.
Sayonara, Japanese goodbye
Whisper sayonara but you mustn't cry
Sayonara, if it must be so
Whisper sayonara, smiling as we go
No more we stop to see pretty cherry blossoms
No more we 'neath the tree looking at the sky
Sayonara, sayonara
Goodbye
Sayonara, Japanese goodbye
Whisper sayonara but you mustn't cry
Sayonara, if it must be so
Whisper sayonara, smiling as we go
No more we stop to see pretty cherry blossoms
No more we 'neath the tree looking at the sky
Sayonara, sayonara
Goodbye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUeWPQHzycg
On one hand, we have an issue of Japanese product losing its unique identity that appeal us.
On the other hand, we will have more English translated eroge.
Should I grieve or rejoice?
Actually it will be -$11 trillions!
You cannot export so fucking expensive animes, specially with no subs at all!
To export good you need:
- Quality
- As cheap as possible
- Sexy stuff!
"Quadruple" is buzzword in order to sell to the people that state decisions will be beneficial, but they never actually work out.
It's equivalent to President Obama proposing massive stimulus packages saying it will create jobs, but when the figures come in, unemployment continues to go up.
Maybe they were just taking about K-ON!!!!
"Obama can't K-ON!"
excuse me, internet has been acting like an ADD kid with suicidal tendencies... crappy net logged me out along with a ton of other annoying things...
"sigh... when moralists and crap use the government to their whims you get completely stupid things done...
i HIGHLY doubt that the anime industry will somehow be 4x bigger by that time period, considering how the global economy is shifting, i see the industry staying about the same or slightly increasing, but 4x is a stretch, especially when you start introducing government mandates and laws and crap...
this brings me to the FCC here in the USA, i personally think they are a useless organization and should be disbanded. one of the things they wish to do is get rid of net neutrality, if stupid moralists ranting about their outdated ideals and how everyone is "sinful" and is "going to hell" crap isnt enough, now they are going to censor the internet...
the world is doomed... back into the dark ages we go..."
"it doesn't deserve to be called "anime" or "manga" if it is produced abroad Japan."
Korea wants to talk to you about who draws your animu.
"Input of other culture will fail the product."
Fuck you, Big O was strongly influenced by the '90's Batman cartoon and it was awesome. Not to mention Cowboy Bebop (Jazz) or Trigun (cowboys) or god knows how many others.
@alidan
Except the main char design,the change in NIER was acceptable imo..
I don't know about you, but i'm more moved by a father trying to save his daughter than the "onii-chan" thing.. wich is cute, but not tragic enough considering the plot.
And overall, NIER was a great game, so the minor change ( cause you really don't pay attention when you're playing ) don't affect the experience.
Now back on the subject i'm not saying i want barbarian and macho in anime, but NIER , even if it wasn't welcomed at first, passed the westernisation without losing any bit of it's quality .
so it's not really a good example of what you should be afraid.
Except if you're ONLY taking the MC design in consideration but then you're judging a book by it's cover .
The thing is, you guys were missing the entire point of having two different MCs in NiER. I personally prefer RepliCant- not for the look of the main character, but because of what they intended. And that is for the audience to think about the implications of each story character.
The father in NiER is tragic- he will do anything and everything to save his daughter, and will give up every penny he makes towards her recovery. The obsessiveness of the doting parent is evident in every action he makes in the game regarding Yonah.
The brother Nier is also tragic, but for different reasons- he will do anything he can to save his sister, and will give up anything he earns, his own wellbeing, to help her recover. His obsessiveness is stranger and more dangerous, however, because the positions have changed... and because while father Nier clings to his daughter as the meaning of his life and the thing that makes him smile, the burden of a 15 year old boy to take complete care of his sister, despite their poverty, is a desperate struggle which may even leave him feeling resentful towards her- but at the same time, his resentment is mixed with the same desperation, the same need for her to define his life. So he loves and hates her at the same time, and himself as well... the madness he is slipping into is palpable. But maybe that's just because I'm the only one who read Grimoire NiER. You can find it here:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgvmkf89_228fxgghgg3
Aside from that, the generalization that we would find the brother less attractive as a protagonist than the father was a bit cruel and ignorant, but the fact remains they didn't create two characters specifically for US release- they created two for the Japan release, and decided on one version for the US.
yaku 01:08:
"Now I know that it's wrong to fuck my brother."
"And knowing is half the battle!"
you know... when i hear this... "Troll Physics" is what comes to mind...
They'd say sextuple for 6x bonus but it has sex in it and that's not a family friendly word.
@ItsDemo
Nono! Let them get it out into the world! Then the world can show them how embarassing they are. XD
Anonymous
21:38
neir was a face lift, they couldn't change all to much in it, and it was a last ditch effort to try to appeal to american audiences.
to me the concept of them taking a character and changing it to a "western ideal" was enough for me to not support it at all.
now imagine that it took that mentality from day 1, and not just and 11th hour face lift.
The REAL Lamberto
23:57
i vote any country what isn't afraid of its people as being a shitty government. japan is so afraid of its people it constantly tries to keep them in the dark about anything. its not a good fear like france has, but its getting there.
Firetribe
03:24
busy work. its kind of like recycling, it creates jobs, but they are mostly temp.
and i thought unemployment was over all going down?
and lastly, 5% unemployment is the ideal. i cant go into it in length here because i have to remember all the details, but yea.
Quantity does not imply quality.
All I can say is: Yeah, right...
Quantity is a QUALITY of its own...
If their plans for increased export are anything like's Square Enix's attempts to widen their western audience, I wouldn't be getting too excited even if we had reason to believe they have even an inkling of whats going on in their own government.
@anon 14:49
"Korea wants to talk to you about who draws your animu."
Outsourcing. So what? It's still not of Korean culture. They're being paid to draw JAPANESE animation, not KOREAN. See how that works? The Japanese culture is still there.
"Fuck you, Big O was strongly influenced by the '90's Batman cartoon and it was awesome. Not to mention Cowboy Bebop (Jazz) or Trigun (cowboys) or god knows how many others."
There's an undeniable foreign influence in those. And that's precisely why I don't like them.
Foreign influence in whatever given product is a bad idea. I don't want Tom Cruise in my Kenshins. I don't want white kids living in L.A. as substitutes for my Gokus. I don't want Asuka Souryu Langley being renamed Kate Rose. I don't want to white kids as protagonists in my wuxia films. I don't want Archies in my Love Hinas. I don't want Britney Spears in my Macrosses. I don't want samurai in my Jacks. I don't want foreign shit in my animation period. It doesn't matter where it comes from.
"I don't want Asuka Souryu Langley being renamed Kate Rose.
"I don't want Britney Spears in my Macrosses."
Well said..
18:15 anon, you're overreacting a bit there.
For many outsourced stuff, they can get by the ban through outsourcing. Like a creator in Japan outsourcing stuff and even if it's 100% made in Korea (technically), they can then market it elsewhere other than Japan (OH THE IRONY) and they can find loopholes and it could be a good way to continue business as usual.
The bans says a lot about AIRING and distribution of anime and manga, but I don't think it's easily enforcible if it has to do with simply creating content to be sold elsewhere.
You know, many novelists in the past had to move around various nations to find their niche and audience and acceptance. It'd be kind of funny if anime/manga creators goes to Taiwan, Korea, America, etc so they have the freedoms to make something they want.
The fuck are you on about? I love me some Evangelion, Ranma, InuYasha, Kurenai, Kenshin, Ah! Megami-sama, Highschool of the Dead, Amatsuki etc. Mind you, I DO watch moe stuff and can appreciate its charm, but I watch with strict moderation.
Nice going, there, though. You don't know what you're talking about AND you make assumptions. Two shitbirds with one stone. Impressive.
I'm pretty sure they will be focusing on foreign markets in Asia. Japan is China's biggest trading partner. The Asian market has the same tastes as Japan. Nothing will need to be changed.
You mad? Again, the fact you would deem animes like Cowboy Bebop which's well regarded as a classic by both the eastern and western fans as "bad". Says enough about how little credibility your opinions hold. It's obviously who's the real ignorant one here.
Protip: It's okay if you wanna make subjective bullshits, just say so. Don't make it sound like the whole world agrees with you. That's when you've gone full retarded.
>Implying Big O, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun are bad.
>Implying foreign influence is always bad.
>Implying your opinion is not subjective but rather the truth for all.
So you're only into moeblobyshits? Then your opinion holds no water.
i just hope that "Western Market" its not only USA
Canada, Mexico and the whole Southamerica are great buyers of Anime and Japanese Games, saddly the lack of japanese "Effort" to sell it to us its the main reason these countries cannot distinguish between Chineese cloned products and sweet Japanese imports
Well the plan sounds really good.
But the realisation is epic fail.
You don't buy me with words Japan, go make some laws on the matter and then make the announces.
By the way Japan can't be "Cool" if it's run by senile old farts, sorry to tell you.
Cool Biz has been made fun of by the mangaka of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei like 4 or 5 years ago and it's hilarious how true it still is.
Bring Back Rozen Aso!!
then it's cool :)
Stupid fuckers, what were they thinking until now? 80% or more of japanese anime, manga and games never leaved the borders of Japan. And nowadays when you dont even need to export it physically (they can distribute them online, like on Steam for example) what are they hesitating for? Translation costs? Hell, there are tons of fans who'd translate all their games for fucking FREE.
Dumbshits.
lol yeah give up the quality and say hello to quantity :D -.-"