Danica Davidson
April 8, 2024 
The Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association got started a year ago with the aim to help people in the anime industry. And a survey just released by the group shows there’s a long way to go in terms of making working conditions better.
Japan’s health ministry listed the country’s full-time workers as working an average of 163.5 hours a month. That’s slightly over 40 hours a week, and 40 hours a week would be eight hours a day for five days.
However, around half of workers in the anime world clock in more than 225 hours a month. That’s more than 56 hours a week, or working more than 11 hours a day for five days a week.
There are even records of working 336 hours a month, which would be 84 hours a week, or almost 17 hours a day for five days.
37.7 percent of people reported making 200,000 yen (about $1,300) or less a month, and for 77.6 percent of people in the industry, this is their only job, so it’s their only income. The people bringing in the least about of money tend to be the scriptwriters and the people doing finishing processes. The majority of them bring in less than $1,300 a month.
65.8 percent of those surveyed say they have been victims of harassment, and a higher number say they’ve seen harassment happen.
One silver lining is that the gender wage gap isn’t as bad in anime as other businesses in Japan. In other words, in anime there is less of a gap between what men are paid and what women are paid.
Also, regardless of all these discouraging numbers, the majority of those surveyed say they still want to stay in the world of anime work. Hopefully work from the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association and others can improve the situation.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
