When a United Nations report warned that Japan¡¯s storied animation sector was in danger of potential collapse, you¡¯d be forgiven for thinking the cause was the rise of artificial intelligence.
It was not. Low pay, excessive working hours and weak protections for individuals¡¯ intellectual property rights had created ¡°an environment ripe for exploitation,¡± the U.N. human rights body said last year. If the outlook was grim then, the proliferation of AI could prove existential.
Tokyo owes more to these artists. Even as Japan¡¯s industrial might slipped during the so-called ¡°lost decades,¡± their imagination and soul propelled the nation¡¯s soft power and global influence. ¡°Dragon Ball,¡± ¡°Pokemon¡± and Studio Ghibli churned out internationally beloved storylines and characters. The government was arguably slow to appreciate or monetize this, but has since spent years trying to turn the nation¡¯s creative works into a leading export ¡ª as powerful as any car or chip.
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