Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Koreeda is supporting a fundraising effort aimed at making radical reforms in working conditions in Japan’s film industry, as part of his attempts to push the country to better compete with countries like South Korea globally.
K2 Pictures Inc, a Tokyo-based start-up led by veteran producer Muneyuki Kii as well as a group of film and animation creators including Koreeda, is seeking to raise ¥10 billion (US$62.44 million) from domestic and foreign investors by the end of this year, the company said.
The fund hopes to improve incentives for industry workers by boosting financial rewards and ensuring diversity, the director said.
Photo: Reuters
Although Japanese films are enjoying a period of global success, with Godzilla Minus One and The Boy and the Heron winning Oscars this year, production companies are not reaping the benefits and continue to work under tight budget constraints placed by major film distributors.
“I think there’s a Japan culture boom happening now and it’s on the upswing,” said Koreeda, who plans to direct a film through the fund. “It is equally important to create an environment where workers make enough to feed themselves and make a living.”
Koreeda, who won the top award at Cannes in 2018 with Shoplifters and more recently made last year’s hit Monster, has been vocal in fighting exploitation in the industry.
There is a “sense of crisis” in the industry as young people are no longer choosing film as a career due to poor conditions like long hours and low wages, he said.
The K2 fund plans to use the money raised to invest in making films, and if the production is a success at the box office, creators and staff members are entitled to receive a rate of profit of up to 30 percent divided among them.
It also aims to make films without using the production committee system, a complicated structure comprising different stakeholders that screens movies and often ends up constraining resources.
The fund would instead raise money and reduce risks for filmmaking by having a diverse collection of titles in its portfolio. It would also make sure that the working environment at the film sets are in line with international standards.
Director Koji Fukada, who is working with Koreeda on improving industry conditions, said that when he was a junior staff member he was paid about ¥300 an hour.
“People are tested not on talent or hard work, but whether they can withstand poverty,” he said at a rally on labor rights earlier this month.
Koreeda, who worked with South Korea’s CJ ENM Co for his 2022 film Broker, said the experience showed him how the country had managed to improve working conditions in its film industry, thanks to government regulations as well as financial support from the public and private sectors.
The government-backed Korean Film Council Equity Fund for Film Production raised 430 billion won (US$309.5 million) between 2019 and last year, and invested in 280 films, the council said.
Studios receiving investment from the fund must follow strict guidelines on working hours and wages.
Japanese creators are negotiating with four major companies to allocate 1 percent of box office revenue from the local market to a newly established film organization to cover the potential rise in the production costs, Koreeda said.
A 30 to 50 percent increase in production cost is necessary to apply stricter labor standards, he added.
“This will have the merit of increasing the overall pie by bringing in money from outside, and the merit of showing a different way of making films,” he said. “And it will be more business-oriented.”
The Japanese government has said it would conduct a survey in the industry next year to investigate cases of exploitation. It also plans to help form a committee specializing in films under its umbrella.
“I don’t think this will lead to some sort of ideal state, but I think it will be the beginning of something new,” Koreeda said.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
REGIONAL COMPETITION: Over the past few years the Philippines has lost ground to neighbors such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, a Philippine official said The Philippines is trying to enlist Taiwanese chip giants to expand in semiconductors, a bid to catch up with its neighbors who are emerging as significant suppliers in the industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) are among companies the Philippines is reaching out to as it seeks equipment and expertise to build out chip fabrication operations, said Dan Lachica, head of the Southeast Asian country’s main electronics industry group, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc (SEIPI). The association is working with Philippine officials in Taiwan to talk with potential
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98