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"The Coming Disaster for the Japanese Manga Industry" A decisive challenge awaits the Japanese manga industry. That challenge is "birth rates." I first began discussing the birth-rate issue within the industry five to seven years ago, and I first spoke about it publicly on YouTube around two years ago. Sometimes people ask me: “Why isn't the manga industry already thinking about something so obvious?” And I usually reply: “Well, you hadn't thought about it either until you heard I mention it.” That is the nature of a Columbus's egg. Once someone points it out, it seems obvious. In fact, more and more people are talking about birth rates now. Because of declining birth rates, Japan's population will shrink. However, the disaster caused by a shrinking consumer base is still decades away. The more immediate problem is the decline in young readers. That process has already begun. Fortunately, Japan has been supported by generations of loyal readers who have continued buying and reading manga throughout their lives. For that, the industry owes them tremendous gratitude. They have held the line remarkably well. But the disaster that is approaching right now is something else: The decline of young manga creators. This is the real problem. And it is a serious one. A healthy manga industry must be centered around young creators. Creators of my generation should serve as a strong outer wall around that center—experienced, stable, and supportive—but not the center itself. When there are fewer young creators, there are also fewer aspiring manga artists. There are fewer assistants. There are fewer future professionals. Eventually, the center of the industry begins to collapse like a sandcastle whose foundation has been washed away. And this is not a distant future problem. If we simply leave things to natural forces—to the standard distribution curve—I believe it could happen within the next ten years. The labor shortage caused by declining youth populations is not something waiting for us in the future. Sadly, it is already happening. We can already see the consequences. The talent pool is shrinking. The quality of the talent pipeline is weakening. Weekly manga magazines, in particular, are beginning to feel the pressure. Many mid-sized manga magazines are facing increasing difficulties. This threatens one of manga's most important strengths: Diversity. And unless something changes, the problem will become increasingly severe. (If anything, Korean webtoons may face this crisis even sooner. South Korea's birth rate is even lower than Japan's, and the webtoon industry depends even more heavily on young creators.) The demographic crisis facing both South Korea and Japan is serious. But of course there are solutions. There are solutions to almost every problem in this world. The real question is whether we can act while there is still time. Whether we can act during the golden window of opportunity. And the solutions themselves are surprisingly simple. They are: 1. The True digitalization 2. Globalization 3. What comes after globalization To be continued.

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