Recently, renowned Japanese mangaka Mayu Shinjo published an article in which he describes what he considers to be “the biggest problem facing Japan's manga industry.”“. In his post, Shinjo urgently draws attention to the increasing exploitation of manga artists by large corporations and to persistently low royalty rates. This publication was prompted by the tragic suicide of manga artist Ashihara Hinako, who is believed to have had her original creator rights ignored in the live-action adaptation of her work. The controversy surrounding this incident is still ongoing.

Shinjo wrote: “I wrote this a while ago but haven’t gotten around to posting it…. This is about what I consider to be the biggest problem in the manga industry. I think we need to raise awareness about the current situation and promote change on an individual level… With what has happened recently, I am tired of the unchanging system imposed by big corporations. Please read this. The era of exploitation of manga artists by publishers has already begun.“.

Mayu Shinjoshojo/erotic manga artist who has been active since 1994, used to work for Shogakukan, one of Japan's leading publishers. However, he left the company to work as a freelancer due to increasingly unfavorable working conditions. In his recent viral post, Shinjo offers a detailed explanation of the reality faced by manga artists, who, she says, “are being strangled by bad commercial traditions.”

One of the main points addressed by Shinjo is royalties. For printed manga, artists have been given a standard of 10% over the years. This low rate was justified by the need to involve multiple parties, such as publishers, typesetters, printers, sales intermediaries, retailers, and warehouse management companies, to bring the manga to readers. However, as Shinjo points out, even with the advent of digital publishing, royalties for mangaka remained extremely low, usually at 15% and, in rare cases, 20%. This is despite the fact that most intermediary companies are no longer involved in the process and the publisher has much less responsibility than in printed manga.

Shinjo also mentions personal experiences that reflect the attitude of publishers towards mangaka. After leaving Shogakukan and refusing to relinquish the rights to his works, Shinjo attempted to negotiate directly with his e-book distributor to have his manga published and offered at a higher price. However, when Shogakukan found out, they attempted to threaten the distributor, pressuring it into not accepting the deal. Back then, e-book distributors were dependent on publishers, which put them at a disadvantage. While this has changed, with publishers increasingly relying on e-book distributors to host their titles, publishers continue to take the lion’s share of royalties.

Shinjo points out that more and more authors are complaining about the low royalty rates they receive, but that publishers are not listening, maintaining an attitude of “everyone understands this.” Additionally, it is common for professional manga artists to rent studios and hire assistants for their work, but according to Shinjo, this is paid for by the artists themselves in most cases, further reducing their already low income.

Shinjo concludes his article by appealing to manga artists to question publishers about royalties, request a split in percentages, and negotiate for publishers to cover assistant costs. He asks creators to help protect the mangaka profession and not to allow themselves to be exploited.

The manga sector, one of the pillars of Japanese popular culture, faces a crossroads. Mayu Shinjo’s complaint is a call to action to protect the rights of creators and ensure a more just and sustainable future for all who work in this beloved art form.

Source: Automaton Media