MDN: Manga overseas editions take off in earnest
In 2002, a San Francisco-based distribution firm, VIZ Media Inc., launched sales of the English-language edition of Shonen Jump...[it] enjoys sales of between 300,000 to 350,000 per issue...Japan's manga publishers are taking stronger interest in foreign markets as a means of propping up declining revenues at home...It might come as something of a surprise, but the world's most receptive market for Japanese comic magazines is Thailand, where 12 magazines, with names like Takarajima Shonen, Candy, Margaret and Monmon, are currently published...Following closely behind Thailand is Taiwan, with 11 comics. Other popular foreign markets include South Korea (eight publications); Hong Kong (five); Indonesia (five); and China (four). Germany, Italy, Sweden and the U.S. each have two...Of course, is in the case with so many other exports, the real future of comic sales abroad awaits movement from last great untapped market: China..."At present, we've received permission from the Chinese government to publish several comics, but the market remains restricted," says Masatoshi Sumita, general manager for international rights at Kodansha...more...
