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Anime Industry Needs To Be More Business Savy Date: 5/8/2006 |
| The Yomiuri Shimbun is carrying an article today by Takashi Saito on the Japanese based animation industry needing more business sense. He mentions the roughly 10 year old business relationship between Disney and Ghibli. In tie-up negotiations with Disney, it's said that it was then that producer Toshio Suzuki tapped Stephen Alpert to be the overseas business director for Ghibli and placed him in charge of negotiations. Supposedly, Ghibli at that time lacked the experience of international business negotiation. It is said that the Disney deal took three years to negotiate, and the contract became ten centimeters thick. The evaluation of Japan's animation industry is high worldwide. However, Saito says, it is not always easy for industry companies to smoothly tie international business dealings. There are aparantly many instances where Japanese firms took a hit when deals were negotiated with inexperience. In these cases, regardless if the property becomes a success in the foreign country, a high profit would not always be forthcoming. Producer Suzuki mentioned Ukiyoe wood art which influenced current painting techniques in the world. From the end of shogunate to the Meiji era, this art flowed out to foreign countries in large quantities as exports. He worries, "Does not the same thing happen to animation as well?" According to the estimate of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry the market scale of the Japanese contents field was 11 trillion Yen in 2001. It is expected to swell to 15 trillion Yen in ten years. Author Saito's analysis concludes: "However, the profit might flow out to foreign countries if "Business power" doesn't accompany "Work power". Parties concerned should hurry up measures." |
| Source: Anime News Service |
