FOCUS: Anime Studios Set Up Bases outside Tokyo to Secure Talent

Osaka, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)–A growing number of Japanese anime studios are setting up operations outside Tokyo, drawn by advantages such as easier access to local university and vocational school graduates and the potential for better work-life balance for employees. Japan’s anime industry continues to enjoy strong popularity overseas and is expected to keep expanding. It faces a serious challenge, however, in training and securing the next generation of creators amid chronic labor shortages. The central government plans to support anime studios’ moves out of Tokyo as part of its broader regional revitalization strategy. Mappa Co., the studio behind “Chainsaw Man,” featuring a devil hunter, has its head office in Tokyo and additional production bases in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, and Osaka in the Kansai region of western Japan. At its studio in an office building in central Osaka, about a dozen employees were seen working quietly at their computers. Established in 2023, the Osaka studio is home to about 20 of Mappa’s roughly 500 employees, most of whom are creators in the 3D computer graphics department. Yusuke Tannawa, a board member at Mappa, observes that most production studios in the anime industry are based in Tokyo due to the concentration of major commercial television stations and the capital’s well-developed video production infrastructure. “Working in Tokyo was taken for granted,” he says. On the decision to open the Osaka studio, Tannawa notes that the COVID-19 pandemic changed perspectives. “During the pandemic, we realized that remote collaboration was possible, and we set out to build a base that could attract and support talented creators in the Kansai region,” he says. Mappa offers employees currently working at its Tokyo studio the option to transfer to Osaka. “If they need to return to Kansai because of family obligations or other reasons, it should be reassuring to have an environment in which they can continue working,” Tannawa says. The company hires about five new graduates for the Osaka studio each year. According to Fuminori Nomoto, head of the 3D CG department, the Osaka studio has played a key role in securing talent. “We now have more opportunities to take part in briefing sessions at vocational schools and universities in Kansai,” he says. The company plans to expand its Osaka studio further. Tannawa explains that the aim is to “build a structure that includes key roles in anime direction and production, and ultimately establish a production line operated entirely in Kansai.” For animator Shotaro Tanabe, the chance to work in Osaka was one of the deciding factors in joining Mappa after graduating from a vocational school in the city in 2024. Although he lives alone, his parents still reside in Osaka, something he describes as a major advantage as he can “visit home often and see my beloved dog.” Tanabe has already been involved in visualizing car movements for an animated feature movie. “I want to keep working here in this studio,” he says. In the Kansai region, Shin-Ei Animation Co., a Tokyo-based studio known for popular anime series such as “Doraemon,” opened a new studio in Kobe in 2022. In June last year, the central government adopted its intellectual property promotion plan for 2025, which clearly positioned the use of creative content as a driver of regional revitalization. Under this blueprint, the government aims to promote anime production nationwide through public-private partnerships. In 2021, authorities in Kochi Prefecture in western Japan successfully attracted Studio Eightcolors Inc., a hand-drawn anime production company originally established by industry figures in Tokyo. The studio now produces commercials and promotional videos for local businesses and events. “We hope the anime industry will create new employment opportunities for women and young people,” an official from the prefectural government’s industrial innovation section says. At the same time, the local administration also aims to promote anime originating from Kochi, in the hope that this will help “transform the region into a destination for international visitors in the future.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]