Foreign Minister Proposes Awards For Anime

Date: 2006 May 09 10:32

Posted by Jeremy

Japan's Foreign Minister proposes Nobel Prize-like awards for anime and manga artists.

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Anime News Network reported that Taro Aso, Japan’s Foreign Minister, proposed the creation of two awards to be presented to up-and-coming anime and manga artists. Aso made the proposal when he spoke at the University of Digital Content, an animation school in Akihabara, where he spoke to a group of about 100 students.

Aso first proposed the creation of a Nobel Prize-like award that would be awarded to up-and-coming manga artists. The twist, though, is that the award would be given to non-Japanese artists. The reason for this, Aso said, would that it would increase their affinity with Japan.

Aso then proposed the creation of an "anime ambassador" award for up-and-coming Japanese artists. The motivation for this was the tense political situation between China and Japan. While relations between the two governments are very poor, anime and manga are extremely popular in both countries.

A big fan of manga himself, Aso said that manga and anime creators have engrossed young people in many nations, hence the creation of the two awards. "It is something that the Foreign Ministry could never achieve," he stated.