As part of ¥15 trillion (US$149.5 billion) of fresh stimulus measures unveiled on Friday, Japan hopes to raise the percentage of its exports of “soft power” — manga, animated films, video games and pop music — from 2 percent of the total to 18 percent over the next decade, creating half a million jobs.
“Japanese content, such as anime ... video games and fashion, draw attention around the world,” Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso — a self-confessed manga addict — told reporters as he waved Chinese and Taiwanese magazines featuring Japanese pop stars.
“Unfortunately, this ‘soft power’ is not being linked to business overseas ... By linking the popularity of Japan’s ‘soft power’ to business, I want to create a ¥20 [trillion to] ¥30 trillion [US$200 billion to US$300 billion] market by 2020 and create 500,000 new jobs,” the prime minister said.
Cynics will view the move as an election ploy as Aso attempts to build on a rise in support after North Korea’s rocket launch and the arrest of a senior aide to the main opposition leader, Ichiro Ozawa.
Manga fans lined the streets to support Aso’s bid for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership last autumn, and novelty goods bearing his likeness sell well in Tokyo’s otaku (geek) district, Akihabara.
The cultural affairs agency has reportedly requested ¥12 billion for a national media art center that would promote Japan’s pop culture overseas.
The manga genre comprises every possible theme, from tales for children, history and politics to sports and pornography.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
RSS