Animation industry

Author: Tan Ling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features:
1. Industrial Positioning of the Animation Industry
Industrial positioning of an emerging industry is the primary step in its development. This not only signifies that the industry has gained legal recognition but also demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and emphasis from the government, guiding the industry in investment and development. As a typical representative of the creative industry, the animation industry, despite its early start in Europe and America, has experienced significant imbalance in its global development scope and level due to a lack of clear industrial positioning for a long time, resulting in a predominantly U.S.-dominated market. The rise of Japan and South Korea—two other major forces in the "world" of animation—was a direct outcome of their governments' strong emphasis on the industry. Their initial step was to position the animation industry based on their national conditions, determining its unique role in their economic development.
Currently, the animation industry is widely recognized as an important component of the cultural, creative, and content industries internationally. Japan and South Korea were among the first to fully recognize this nature of the animation industry, which is largely related to their small land area and scarce resources, creating a sense of crisis. To sustain economic growth, Japan actively sought new growth points beyond automobiles and electronics, with the content industry, including animation, becoming its top choice. On June 4, 2004, Japan officially announced the Content Industry Promotion Act, and the Cabinet meeting also decided to include the content industry in the Strategy for Creating New Industries. The Japanese government positioned the content industry as a "proactively revitalized emerging industry," aiming to transform the economic structure toward knowledge-intensive through industrialization of culture, shifting the focus from GDP to GNC (Gross National Cool), and moving from hard power (economy and military) to soft power (cultural values and brands).
As early as 1996, Japan designated animation as a national key industry, with successive governments consistently prioritizing the development of industries such as comics and animation as a fundamental national policy. At the same time, Japan also regarded the animation industry as a "soft power" to establish a strong national status and exert international influence beyond economic and diplomatic spheres. In the Japanese government's view, the animation industry not only plays a crucial supporting role in Japan's economy but also leverages the nationality-free nature of animation language to expand the influence of Japanese culture worldwide, elevate its status in the global cultural landscape, and ultimately enhance Japan's national image.
In South Korea, after Kim Dae-jung took office in 1998, he deeply felt that "limited resources, unlimited creativity," and thus explicitly proposed the "Cultural State" policy, listing the development of the cultural industry, including the animation industry, as one of the seven policy agendas. Since then, the cultural industry, including animation, has been established as South Korea's pillar industry for the 21st century. To elevate its industrial category, the South Korean government reclassified animation from the service sector to the manufacturing sector. Online games, a significant component of South Korea's animation industry, were also designated as a key strategic pillar industry for development.
In the UK, the animation industry falls under the creative industry. In May 1997, after Tony Blair took office as Prime Minister, he proposed and promoted the establishment of the "Creative Industries Task Force," explicitly defining the creative industry as a national industrial policy and strategic planning initiative.