Japanese weekly business magazine Shukan Toyo Keizai (Weekly Oriental Economy) has given me a very nice Xmas present: They finally post some free content online! I was even more delighted to discover that one featured article discusses a topic that’s come up in a recent post: the “decline” of Japan’s animation industry. According to animation critic Ryota Fujitsu (who incidentally also is on the selection committee for the Nippon Otaku Awards) argues that rather than declining per se it’s “hollowing out” due to outsourcing of animators. I decided to translate it in full since it brings up some interesting issues. Let’s have a look:

The Hollowing Out of Japan’s Animation Industry Continues

(2006/12/19)

Currently, Japan’s animation industry wouldn’t be viable without the presence of Korean and Chinese subcontracting companies. Why must the industry rely on foreign outsourcing? If you trace the causes of this dependence, you’ll find the answer lies in the low production costs. Normally, production costs of a 30-minute program amount to around 10 million yen apiece. However, it costs even more than that for a more elaborate project, and there are also many works that are produced for prices lower than 1 million yen. This situation has been going on for years, and you could say it has become entrenched. So as a result, the issue of low wages for animation staff, chiefly represented by the animators, has been repeated in the media. This is despite the facts that dozens of animated programs are shown every week, and animation has been proclaimed as “a subculture representative of Japan” by the media.

One third of animators make less than 1 million yen annually

The typical lifestyle of a contemporary animator was detailed in the 2005 study “Status of Activities and Lifestyles of Performing Artists” conducted by the Japan Council of Performers’ Organizations (tr: report available here in Japanese only).

According to this source, animators work an average of 10.2 hours a day, an estimated 250 hours per month. Despite this, 26.8% of the make less than 1 million yen per year, 38.2% earn an average annual income of between 1 million and 3 million yen annually. Meanwhile, 80% of in-between (douga) animators are paid by quantity, with per-cel prices averaging 186.9 yen. 73.7% had annual incomes of less than 1 million yen.
Read the rest of this entry »

Phenomenal talent but unrelenting freakshow Michael Jackson saw himself back in the news this week when he cancelled a Xmas party that was to be held in Japan. ZAKZAK takes a closer look at what happened:

The truth behind the sudden cancelleation of Michael’s Xmas party
Confusion over hiring Dave Specter as host

Fans of American singer Michael Jackson (age 48) were peeved at the sudden cancellation of the planned “Premium Christmas Party” to be held at Studio Coast event hall in Shinkiba, Tokyo on December 19. A spokesperson for Michael explained that the reason behind the postponement was “to engage with as many fans as possible” and rescheduled the event for March 8-9 of next year. The postponement is enshrouded in mystery, and claims have been made of Michael’s poor health and poor sales of the most expensive Platinum Tickets, priced at 400,000 yen apiece.

According to sources close to the issue, the party originally planned for 200 Platinum Tickets (priced at 400,000 yen each that would have included a photo and handshake with Michael), and 1400 Golden Tickets (just a handshake for 200,000 yen). Jackson himself was not scheduled to perform, but spokespeople explained that “Michael was to watch a show, consisting of gospel and band performances, along with his guests from a VIP area on the 2nd floor.”

Planners began additionally selling 50,000 yen tickets from December 5. Event planners repeated boastful explanations that “Sales of Platinum and Golden Tickets have only amounted to a few buyers, but we have filled the hall.”

At the “do-over” party to be held in March, a “Premium VIP Party” will be held on March 8 with tickets selling for 400,000 yen apiece, and on March 9 ticket prices will be lowered to 15,000 yen for a fan appreciation event.

Michael fan sites have recently expressed mixed opinions, from hopeful (“No matter how expensive it is, there is a corresponding value to Michael in the flesh”) to opposed (“This is a simple ploy to make money and will tarnish Michael’s image”).

The confusion continues, with episodes such as when television producer Dave Specter, approached by event planners to host the March party, declined the offer after protests from Jackson fans.

Dave commented, “Since I have before now made many (critical) statements about Michael as a journalist (tr: He hosted the Japanese version of that interview from a few years ago when Michael insisted that sleeping in the same bed with young boys is all right), I had no choice (but to decline the hosting gig). There are many excitable fans who worship Michael as if he were a god.” He also noted that for the March party “He will probably come on the scheduled date and time since there is a proper contract. The tickets are certainly expensive, but I have heard that inquiries from abroad have been impressive.”

There have been reports that Michael’s health is in bad condition, such as when US tabloid Globe has reported: “He is addicted to painkillers and wine.” However, it looks like Michael will continue to make his fans inpatient right up until the March party.

Comment:It looks like Michael sees Japan as the only place where he can make profitable public appearances these days. What I don’t get is why won’t he perform? If he wants to make money that seems like the most logical way to do it.

The Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series (one of my favorites) has made the move back to Nintendo from Sony, starting with Dragon Quest 9 on the DS. Why?

According to ZAKZAK, an industry insider explains: “The key can be found in the DS’s surprisingly strong sales. Currently, the cost of developing a game ranges from 300-500 million yen, but that will jump to 800 million – 1 billion yen with next-generation systems such as the PS3. Most developers who got a look at the PS3 when it made its first appearance as a demontration system at the Tokyo Game Show were intrigued by the clear images but did not get it in their heads to go that far themselves in game design. It would just cost too much.”

Games on portable systems cost much less to develop. And the DS is already a monster product, clocking 12 million units in sales since its release in December 2004. And of course games for that system have been hits as well, such as the “New Super Mario Brothers” and “DS Brain Training.” Add the latest installment of Dragon Quest, one of the top console series ever, to that lineup would be tantamount to “arming an ogre with an iron staff” in ZAKZAK’s vernacular (an analogy akin to “pouring gasoline on a fire”). Future DQ games will be released on the Nintendo Wii.

However, DQ series developer SquareEnix is not putting all its eggs in the Nintendo basket. The new Final Fantasy games will continue to be released on the Playstation as the company announced in May. SCE is also a major shareholder in SquareEnix.

ZAKZAK:

At Last, Melt-in-your-mouth Donuts are Coming to Japan for the First Time!

On Tuesday, popular American donut chain Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) let reporters get a look at the inside of their first store in Japan, located on the south side of JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, before its official opening on December 15.

KKD was founded in the US in 1937. It currently operates approximately 400 stores in 10 countries including Canada and the UK. The store’s flagship product “original glazed,” which will sell for 150 yen, features a crunchy outside and melts in the mouth.

In Japan, a Japan-based corporation jointly owned by the Lotte coroporation and management services company Revamp (PDF) will will manage the restaurants. The company plans to open 50 stores in the Kanto region within 5 years.

Comment: I can’t wait for this. I haven’t had KK since July and Mrs. Adamu’s been without for even longer.

The December 7 issue of Shukan Shincho ran a story in its “Heaven’s still a long way off” section about bothersome right-wing sound trucks that plagued the city of Kobe in the months of October and November. Here is a quick translation of the article:

The behind-the-scenes story of the 50 right-wing sound trucks that gathered in Kobe

A number of police officers watch the intersection intently. There is also an anti-riot squad carrying duralumin shields. Security trucks are stationed at hotels, and several patrol cars can be seen spinning their red lights at the city hall. This is what Kobe looked like on November 26 as a state of heightened security continued throughout the city. Just what was going on that day?

It all began in late October. The right-wing group Japan Emperor People’s Party submitted an application to use a public parking lot located on the city’s Rokko Island. The city administration granted the group permission saying there was “no reason to refuse them.” It was a contract to use a space that can hold 150 passenger cars for one month.

“Since then, several right-wing group sound trucks started gathering in Kobe. The prefectural police immediately deployed a massive amount of anti-riot police. They installed a checkpoint at the road in front of the parking lot and the two sides started staring each other down. There were some minor fisticuffs when the police searched the person of one of the group members,” says a local journalist.

Then on November 5, 50 sound trucks began a large-scale demonstration in town. A taxi driver who witnessed the event describes the scene:

“I saw them at the intersection on the west side of Kobe station, and it was a doozy. All of a sudden, black and white sound trucks were there as far as the eye could see. It’s quite a sight to see so many at once. They were playing military marches or something, but the volume was low. It was actually kind of creepy, too quiet.”

The real reason

Just what did they gather in Kobe in droves to protest? Masashi Takajima, action committee chairman of the JEPP, which continues its activities in Kobe, had this to say:

“Our recent sound truck activities were intended to protest the North Korea issue. That country is trying to return to the six-party talks while in possession of nuclear weapons. These activities are in response to that. The reasons we chose Kobe are several including the fact that they continue giving tax breaks to facilities owned by [pro-Pyongyang Korean-Japanese group] Songryon.”

However, an official from the Kobe Prefectural Police contends:

“We see their true objectives to lie somewhere else. At the end of September, just before Kobe held the National Athletic Meet [Kokutai], the large hotels in Kobe city established a ‘Liaison Committe to Exclude Organized Crime Groups.’ They made it clear that they would refuse to allow members to stay at or use their facilities. [These recent events] are in protest of that.”

Also, a senior leader of a right-wing group who participated in the sound truck activities murmurs:

“It’s true that the refusal to let gang members stay at hotels was the inspiration for the recent sound truck activity. More than the hotel issue, we intend to put pressure on the prefectural police who called for the exclusion of organized crime members. However, there’s a gag order in place and no one is allowed to tell the ‘real reason.’”

Takajima rebuts these claims, explaining, “That’s totally wrong. We never went to protest at hotels, nor did we talk about that in the sound trucks. A gag order? There’s nothing like that at all.”

The right-wing group quickly vacated the sound trucks from the premises of the parking lot on November 24, the day the contract expired. That is because the city refused to extend the contract. However, Takajima notes, “All we have to do is secure another location to base our activities from. We intend to continue our activities, including during [Christmas light show] Luminarie, when people gather in Kobe.” The battle between the police and right-wing groups looks likely to drag on.

A few days ago, the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC, an artist copyright lobby similar to ASCAP/RIAA) was arrested for performing copyrighted music by artists including the Beatles at a restaurant he owned. Joi Ito posted an outline of the initial coverage of this incident, but I’m here to pass along some more detailed information, gleaned from J-cast, an online news site:

Arrested for performing the Beatles!

The owner of a restaurant (age 73) was arrested for holding live performances of songs whose copyrights are under tha management of industry association JASRAC without obtaining the group’s permission. Cases of copyright law violations that lead to arrest are extremely rare. JASRAC has commented that “there was no other way,” but criticism of JASRAC, who filed the criminal complaint, have arisen on the Internet.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Agency (MPA), the man is accused of copyright violation for performing The Beatles’ “Here, There, and Everywhere,” “Liverpool and All the World!” etc, which are managed by JASRAC, in his restaurant on the piano and harmonica for his customers without receiving JASRAC’s approval.
Read the rest of this entry »

Weekly Friday printed an article in their July 21 issue taking a look at the controversy surrounding Soka Gakkai leader Daisaku Ikeda’s recent series of op-eds in the Japan Times, the “only independent English-language newspaper in Japan.” Let’s have a look:

FRIDAY, 2006.07.21

Field reporters lodge fierce protests, claiming “promotional articles for giant religious group Soka Gakkai”

In our last article, we reported the behind-the-scenes power struggle that is ripping Soka Gakkai apart, but a “Soka scandal” has also embroiled the Japan Times, the English-language newspaper boasting the longest history in Japan (founded 1897).

It all started when the paper started running a serial column by Daisaku Ikeda (78), honorary chairman of Soka Gakkai. This column runs on the 2nd Thursday of each month, with 12 columns planned in total. But Japan Times emloyees have fiercely protested and it has reached a state where they have requested that the upper management cancel the series. A Japan Times employees explains:

“Soka Gakkai has been dubbed a cult in France, and it is united with a specific political group (New Komeito). It is absurd for us to let the leader of a religious group with these kinds of issues to write promotional articles and on top of that give him our serial space. Even from the perspective of journalistic impartiality, it isn’t to be permitted.”
Read the rest of this entry »

A couple interesting articles on the building discontent with 2ch and its founder’s scofflaw ways. Debito has the articles full-text in Japanese only on his awesome new blog (such discrimination!) but I have decided to translate them (not verbatim but true to the original, as usual) for the discerning English-reading public. BTW, I’ll only have really nice things to say about 2ch in the future:

ZAKZAK!

2-Channel in a state of lawlessness – Attacks on individuals left on the site

A 30-year-old customer service worker recalls her painful memories:

“I went back to my parents’ house after my home address was revealed on the Internet, but harassing phone calls kept coming into my office. Even my customers started to distrust me, thinking that I had someone (harassing me).”

The woman took the brunt of insults such as “ex-prostitute,” “too much plastic surgery,” and threats including “I’ll kill you,” and “Just die.”

There were rumors that “an old acquaintence in the same business posted the offending material around the time when (the woman) opened her own store,” but the “culprit” could not be identified. The woman filed a civil law suit holding message board’s moderator Hiroyuki Nishimura (age 29, pictured) responsible.

The Tokyo Regional Court ordered deletion of the posts and 1 million yen in compensation, but the court victory spawed a second round of attacks. On 2ch, there were several posts including “don’t get bent out of shape over such things,” “I’ll beat you to death,” and “Hurry up and hang yourself.” Her workplace’s web site was also flooded with similar posts, shutting it down. The woman took leave from work for a while due to the stress.

Nishimura’s reaction at the time was, “Since it wasn’t just a demand to delete the posts, but litigation to take money from the message board’s moderator, I think it happened because it provoked protest from regular users.”
Read the rest of this entry »