ID :
158124
Tue, 01/25/2011 - 17:39
Auther :

More firms withdraw from Tokyo anime fair in ordinance protest

TOKYO (KYODO) An upcoming Tokyo government-run subculture fair will see a sharp fall in the number of exhibitors, the organizer said Tuesday, a move widely taken as a protest against new regulations set by the local authorities on comic books and animated films.
The number of exhibitors in the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March has already fallen by 91 from the previous year to 153, a revenue loss of 110 million yen, according to the organizing committee headed by Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.
Of the 153, 125 are Japanese companies and 28 are overseas companies, the organizer said.
A group of 10 Japanese publishers, including Kodansha Ltd. and Shogakukan Inc., have already announced they will boycott the event after the metropolitan government amended an ordinance toughening regulations on the sale of ''manga'' comic books and animated films containing sexual depictions that the authorities judge are ''extreme.''
Some other participants in the anime fair have also said that they may not take part in the March 26-27 Public Day unless the group withdraws the planned boycott.
Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co. and other companies which are boycotting the event plan to hold another anime event on their own on the same days as the Tokyo government-run event.

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