Japan has an animation problem

Although anime art is well respected and well liked around the globe, behind the scenes, the industry is struggling with finding good animators. More experienced and mid-level anime artists are overburdened and often underpaid, while new artists are severely underpaid and, much to the frustration of senior artists, not being taught the necessary skills before seeking employment.

Japanese anime is in high demand around the world, and the market continues to grow. According to the Association of Japanese Animations, in 2023, it hit an all-time high of $23 billion (which includes merch and streaming revenue), an increase of 14% over the previous year—half of which is attributed to international, rather than domestic, markets.

While demand is on the rise, the number of talented animators specializing in this art form is not; rather, it is on the decline and continues to worsen each year, according to an article published by Nikkei Asia.

Japanese anime has been a major export for Japan, and the government fears that resource is becoming scarce. In the country’s New Cool Japan Strategy announced by the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, content industries such as anime, manga, and video games are positioned as key industries, and a target date of 2033 has been set for it to reach ¥20 trillion (US $137.8 billion). (The current international content market scale is ¥4.7 trillion, of which anime accounts for 31% at ¥1.45 trillion.)

The problem rests not with a decline in anime interest but a decline in anime artists. To rectify this problem, the country’s government is focused on bolstering the industry and getting it back to a healthier state. However, it seems that is easier said than done.

Yosuke Yasui, a senior economist at the Japan Research Institute, has estimated that approximately 30,000 animators and other creative professionals will be needed at Japanese studios in order to meet the government’s target of achieving the export goal in the New Cool Japan Strategy. However, rather than such an increase, Yasui is quoted as saying the total number of animators will likely drop -30%, from 6,211 in 2019 to 4,562 by 2050.

The problem is occurring at all levels of the industry, driven by historically low pay and high workloads across the board. At the higher levels, experienced animators can earn a healthy income. However, their workload is continually increasing while their pay is not, as they pick up the slack left by experienced artists who have exited the industry and have to fix mistakes made by inadequately trained newcomers.

Meanwhile, overworked midlevel staff are also burdened with long hours as they pick up the workload resulting from staffing shortages. And, younger artists, disenfranchised with the industry’s low pay and limited career opportunities, not to mention frustrated by having to perform more basic tasks due to their lack of skill, are leaving as well.

Just how modest or inadequate the compensation tends to be varies widely, with studio size a major factor. But reports indicate that trainees earn about ¥50,000 (US $340) monthly. According to Indeed, the average salary for Japanese anime artists is ¥3 million–¥7 million (US $20,500–$48,000) a year.

A 2024 survey by the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association (NAFCA) found that 37.7% of the total respondents said their anime-related work earns them less than ¥200,000 per month, or less than ¥2.4 million per year, or about US $16,500 (the average annual salary in Japan is ¥6.1 million, or US $40,000).

Following a United Nations report outlining the industry’s lackluster state of its workers, Japan began working on legislation to improve the labor practices in this industry segment. A United Nations Human Rights Council working group report in May 2024 specifically called out Japan’s anime industry for its “excessively long working hours” and low pay, alongside concerns about intellectual property rights.

So, if anime is gaining in popularity worldwide, why the problem with low pay? Many international streaming services are serving up the art form to hungry viewers, but Japanese studios reportedly are only seeing a small percentage of that revenue. Add to that the rising costs for capital investment, office space and improvements, and outsourcing of CG, and that revenue quickly diminishes.

To make matters worse, the necessary skills for anime are not readily taught at a university or vocational school, the Nikkei Asia article points out. In an effort to rectify the talent disparity, NAFCA issued its first aptitude test for animators in an effort to certify their skill and knowledge levels, which the organization hopes will lead to increased employer confidence in young artists’ abilities.

Meanwhile, some Japanese studios, including Bandai Namco Filmworks, are taking matters into their own hands and training animators at company-run schools and academies.

What do we think? For artists, their work is their passion. But, that can only go so far, as anime artists need to earn a living, and until that changes, their passion projects are apt to become their hobby. Meanwhile, the question has been raised whether anime produced outside of Japan can be called anime, just as folks note that champagne from outside of the Champagne region is sparkling wine rather than true champagne.