Are televisions involved in the financing of Japanese animation?
Yes, we can say that the main actors of the Japanese animation industry are broadcasters. In T okyo we have 6 key stations. T ogether with NHK, the public broadcaster, we have 5 private televisions: Fuji TV, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi and Tokyo TV, which are main actors for the animation industry. Which are the most predominant productions? Most of the animation produced in Japan is adapted from Manga comic books. The publisher has a key role in the market. Animation in Japan has a very close relation with the computer game industry. Each animation series produced in Japan has a production committee composed by the publisher, the computer games developer, the broadcaster, the advertisement agency and the producer. Each animation programme is sponsored by a special advertisement. The advertisement agencies have a key role for the financing of the series. Character merchandising is extremely important in Japan. Some observers of the Japanese animation industry are talking of the end of the anima
