Japanese Conglomerates Promoting DEI And ESG Initiatives Invest In Anime And Manga Industry, ‘Frieren’ Publisher Shogakukan Among Partners
As interest in anime and manga continues to grow on both the local and international levels, a pair of Japan’s largest conglomerates – both of whom unfortunately promote DEI and ESG initiatives as part of their core values – are now looking to get in on the weaboo game.
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Going in alphabetical order, the first of these corporate investors is Marubeni, a leader in Japan’s cereal and paper industries and the nation’s overall fifth-biggest general trading company.
On June 27th, Marubeni announced that they would be teaming up with publisher Shogakukan – whose print offerings include the Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Kamen Rider Kuuga, and Pokémon Special mangas, as well as the Shimoneta and Gonna be the Twin-Tail!! light novels series – to establish “a new company for the global development of Japanese manga and anime content.”
“The sales channels for [Japanese manga and anime] are not well established, especially in overseas markets,” explained the company of their new partnership. “Lack of direct distribution networks and retail outlets means that attractive content cannot be delivered to fans around the world, resulting in lost opportunities. This situation has led to an increase in pirated products, highlighting the need for a system that ensures the distribution of legitimate goods.”
“The [new company] aims to offer a breakthrough solution to this situation thereby contributing to maximizing the value of Japanese content by connecting authors with fans around the world,” they added. “Specifically, the [new company] will deliver Japanese content in a variety of domains, including the development of goods using manga and anime content, sales at retail outlets, and the establishment of an overseas sales distribution network, as well as digital content utilizing the latest technology.”
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Notably, per their own website, Marubeni is a strong adherent to the tenants of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing principles.
Further, they’ve performed so well in their dedication that they were recognized as an “Environmentally Sustainable Company” at the February 2024 Japanese ESG Finance Awards – one of the event’s top honors, as awarded to those companies doing the most to promote such related efforts.
(Interestingly, most of their reported ESG initiatives are concerned with the ‘Environmental‘ aspect of their operations. Meanwhile, their ‘Social‘ efforts seem to be more focused on promoting gender diversity than racial diversity).
The second corporate investor is the Mizuho Financial Group.
A banking holding company, the group is moving to establish an anime film invest fund by the end of the year.
According to Bloomberg, the fund will begin with a pool of ¥1.5 billion ($9.5 million) to ¥2.5 billion ($17 million) in financing, with Mizuho Financial Group looking to invest roughly ¥800 million ($5.4 million) into each film they partner with.
And similar-but-slightly-different to Marubeni, Mizuho Financial Group are committed to the principles of DEI.
“In alignment with Mizuho’s Corporate Identity and to create lasting value for all stakeholders in the economies and communities in which we operate, we promote equity of opportunity and an inclusive culture where diversity,
in its many forms, is welcomed,” reads the company’s official Commitment to Diversity. “We incorporate varied perspectives into our daily working practices and decision making, and strive to create an environment where employees can flourish, feel a sense of belonging and are proud to work.”
Whether or not the principles of ESG and DEI will feature prominently in the development of either Marubeni or Mizuho Financial Group’s respective anime productions.
However, given what we’ve seen from the West, let’s just say the odds aren’t looking good.
As of writing, neither Marubeni nor Mizuho Financial Group have announced their first respective anime productions.
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