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.
From India to China to the US, automakers cannot make vehicles — not that no one wants any, but because a more than US$450 billion industry for semiconductors got blindsided. How did both sides end up here? Over the past two weeks, automakers across the world have bemoaned the shortage of chips. Germany’s Audi, owned by Volkswagen AG, would delay making some of its high-end vehicles because of what chief executive officer Markus Duesmann called a “massive” shortfall in an interview with the Financial Times. The firm has furloughed more than 10,000 workers and reined in production. That is a further blow
Answering to a reported request by Germany to help address a chip shortage in its auto industry, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday said that it was in talks with domestic chip suppliers. Foreign media over the weekend reported that German Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier had sent a request to Taipei to ask Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to cooperate more closely with German automakers to provide microchips and sensors, to bridge a shortage that has emerged over the past few months. The MOEA said that it had not yet received the request and could therefore not elaborate
FOCUS ON FOUNDRIES: An analyst said that some investors would be disappointed because they were expecting a larger announcement of a partnership with TSMC Intel Corp’s incoming chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger on Thursday pledged to regain the company’s lead in chip manufacturing, countering growing calls from some investors to shed that part of its business. “I am confident that the majority of our 2023 products will be manufactured internally,” Gelsinger said. “At the same time, given the breadth of our portfolio, it’s likely that we will expand our use of external foundries for certain technologies and products.” He plans to provide more details after officially taking over the CEO role on Feb. 15, but Gelsinger was clear that Intel is sticking with its once mighty
AWARENESS NEEDED: The central bank urged lenders to know their customers before undertaking business for them and to seek funding in conventional ways The central bank yesterday said that it would take action against four foreign lenders for their involvement in helping companies trade in the deliverable forward market in contravention of foreign-exchange regulations. Some grain merchants newly based in Taiwan have since July 2019 been practicing questionable currency-trading activity, with the help of branches and subsidiaries of six foreign banks, the monetary policymaker told an unscheduled news conference. Affiliated firms as of July last year completed currency-related deals they referred to as trading that totaled US$11 billion, which was not in sync with their real business needs, the central bank said after wrapping up
RSS