The recently released “Educational White Paper” report for the year 2000, published by the Japanese government, has classified anime and manga as “art.” The Japanese Ministry of Education reports that “anime and manga are among the most important forms of artistic expression in the modern Japanese cultural environment.” Regarding anime and manga, the White Paper remarks that, “They are highly recognized and popular abroad, and many anime created in Japan have spread in renown overseas.” Anime is particularly commended through the statement, “Japanese animations are a unique form of expression and display a minute attention-to-detail, due to the craftsmen-like talents of the animators.”<\/p>\n
Manga has now become a highly regarded literary medium in Japanese society. The city of Hiroshima, for example, recently opened a manga-only library. This year also saw the introduction of a manga study curriculum at Kyoto’s Seika University.<\/p>\n