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Kadokawa Opens Animation and Design School in Thailand

Kadokawa opened its Kadokawa Animation and Design School at the Chamchuri Square Building in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday. Enrollment for the school is currently ongoing, and the school expects to draw in 400 students in its first year, with an eventual goal of 1,000 students in three years. The study term will begin on April 23.

The school is currently offering 10-month courses for both manga and character design. There are also plans to expand the program with courses for anime production and voice acting. The school employs both Japanese and Thai lecturers.

Tetsuya Koga, president and CEO of Kadokawa Contents Academy Co., stated that the company plans to open a school in Malaysia next year, with more schools in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines in subsequent years, and plans for schools in China and Australia.

Kadokawa already operates a school for manga and anime artists in Taiwan, along with a a card game illustration course at a polytechnic school in Singapore.

Cool Japan Fund Inc. revealed last year that it will invest up to 450 million yen (about US$3.7 million) in Kadokawa's projects to develop content creators for anime and manga outside Japan, with a particular focus in allowing Kadokawa Contents Academy Co. to expand its schools in other markets. Kadokawa Contents Academy Co. aims to produce at least 2,000 graduates among its collective schools by 2020.

Japanese Manga Alliance — the company that Shueisha, Animate, Kodansha, Kadokawa, and Shogakukan established as a joint venture — launched its Animate Bangkok store on February 6.

Sources: The Mainichi Shimbun, Sankei Biz