UN warns anime industry may “collapse” if issues aren’t addressed

The anime industry could be under threat if poor working conditions within studios continue, a new report from the United Nations states.

It’s a sad reality that many of the best anime movies and anime shows are produced in less than favorable situations for the animators. Long hours and low pay within Japan place continued strain on people in animation, putting the whole landscape into an increasingly precarious situation.

In a UN report published May 2024, a number of issues are outlined across the animation sector in Japan. If the problems listed aren’t amended, the findings point towards a “potential collapse” in years to come.

According to the document, 30% of the workforce in anime are subject to “excessively long working hours” and “unfair” working relationships due to being kept in freelance or contractor status. This means hiring companies aren’t required to upload as many employment requirements as they would if the workers were full-time staff.

Starting salaries are around $10,000, or 1.5 million yen – a distinctly low amount that means many can’t afford to live off their animation work alone, forcing them to seek other jobs to survive. On top of these problems, deals surrounding intellectual property from new creatives “inadequately protects” their rights, breeding yet more imbalance and toxicity.

Alongside a “major labor shortage”, the UN’s findings suggest these systemic problems should be remedied in the immediate future, or catastrophe could strike. This lines up with statistics from the NAACP, where it was revealed the a substantial proportion of anime staff had experienced or witnessed harassment or abuse in the workplace.

Much of this won’t be shocking to regular viewers, as quality has been noticeably sketchy over the last year. Earlier this month, Uzumaki was slammed for quality plummeting between episodes, and Blue Lock Season 2 has received similar criticism.

Production teams are stretched and cutting corners as a result, and it sounds like if something isn’t done, the medium as a whole will suffer.