Summary
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Japan's fair trade commission examines complaints about unfair practice in the anime industry.
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Animators in Japan join productions as a freelancer, which receives investigations of low wages and unreasonable working conditions.
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The UN report reveals the animators' low wage differences with industry profits, which provides reactions from industry organizations.
The working conditions for animators in Japan have long been a theme for heated debate – while large studios today invest in AI, and claim “work shortages”, animators have been true of low pay and exhaustive work routines.
For example, for many fans, studio mapping (Chainsaw manThe Jujutsu Kaisen) is as a symbol of it because of the long history with controversy involving the working environment in the studio. But even though most of the charges are true, Mappa would probably be one of many with similar methods.
Family
Is there an “anime bubble” on the verge of blasting?
Some industry -sides seem to think that the anime industry is a bubble that can burst soon. Do we have any characters?
On January 29 jAPAN Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) – The State Competition Regulatory in the country – announced that it is investigating allegations of unfair practice in the entertainment industry (Anime and film industry, especially).
What exactly is this investigation for?
The The focus of this investigation is transactions between “creativity” (such as animators, but it can involve manga writers who licenses their works for adaptations and perhaps outsourced studios) and production companies -S As strange as it may sound for some (as animators would be workers), many animators probably go with productions such as freelancers or subcontractors, so their relationship with the companies is technically one of transactions/business and not to employers.
The The agency does not claim that there is any kind of abuse or exploitation in the industry, but it tries to understand the larger picture – At the moment this is just a survey. They ask the creators to submit relevant information for their investigations, and are likely to be able to respond to all charges.
On the official site, the agency claims that it aims to support creators and help to create an environment where they can maximize their potential. According to Asahi Shimbun, they want to check if the profit is “returned properly”, but still understand the scenario.
Issues to be investigated include unfair low wages that are potentially forced by clients, unreasonable requests for renovations without compensation, cancellations without clear reasons, complicated schedules and so on.
Anime Industry vs animators and UN
In May 2024, the UN issued a report in which the notable difference between the annual average salary for animators (1.5 million yen) and the profits in the anime market (2.74 trillion yen) and other issues of the industry.
Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), which represents the production companies, responded to it and claimed that animators work an average of 50 hours a week, less than the legal maximum (54 hours a week), based on a 2023 report from Nipon Anime & Film Culture Association (NAFCA), an organization that focused on improving working conditions in the industry.
However, NAFCA responded to Aja, claiming that they have calculated the number with a more positive approach, and that the median hours work per week is about 53 (median values are less susceptible to extreme values than average), which, despite being below the legal maximum Alarming numbers, per animenomy. NAFCA also claims that the average hourly wage for animators is below Tokyo's minimum wage.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission is still asking for “creativity” to submit information to understand the bigger image.
Source: Automaton Media, Asahi Shimbum
