JEDDAH, 8 January 2008 — The doors are now open for the first time for comic artists in the Kingdom to participate in Japan’s Second International Manga Award for Japanese comic arts, which will be held in Tokyo in the summer of 2008.
“We hope to see some Saudi artists in this year’s contest,” said Katsunobu Takada, head of the cultural section of the Japanese Embassy in Riyadh.
The event, which premiered last year, hosted contestants from various countries around the world.
“This year, we are presenting the invitation for Saudi artists to show their talent,” he said. The idea of the award came from Japan’s former Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who was a strong admirer of Manga. Since Japanese comic books are popular worldwide, the former minister said that Manga would be a good way to spread Japanese culture around the world.
The cultural section at the Japanese Embassy has approached a number of Saudi youths who have studied in Japan and those who are studying Japanese in the Kingdom in addition to those working in the private sector.
He said that prizewinners would be invited to Japan for about 10 days to attend the awards ceremony in Tokyo. Winners would also have the chance to meet famous Japanese Manga artists in addition to visiting a number of publishing houses specialized. Applications are available at http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/culture/manga and are being accepted through Feb. 29.
