Coming soon: Japan national ‘anime shrine’
The Japanese government is going to build a national ‘anime shrine,’ reports the Asahi:
The Agency for Cultural Affairs plans to spend 11.7 billion yen to build a “shrine” dedicated to anime, manga, videogames and other contemporary Japanese art.
As the first government-built facility of its kind, the “national comprehensive center for media art” in Tokyo will serve as a base for promoting the popular culture.
From the information currently available about the plan, it sounds like it will be a gigantic manga cafe for foreign tourists:
The planned new center will collect and preserve works and information on anime, manga, games and other items. Visitors will be able to watch anime, read manga and play videogames there.
The agency plans to make the center a venue for showcasing cutting-age Japanese culture to the world and cater to foreigners with an interest in Japanese pop culture.
In a related story, Prime Minister Aso has vowed to create 500,000 new jobs by 2020 through the promotion of the anime/manga industry.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
