• Kingdom’s animation company hosted Yoichi Fukazawa, vice-minister for foreign affairs
• Japan, Saudi Arabia to strengthen manga and entertainment partnerships, says minister

Arab News Japan

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Manga Productions company is producing outstanding work in the genre, a leading Japanese government minister said on Monday.

Yoichi Fukazawa, parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs, made the comments during his visit to the company’s headquarters in Riyadh.

The Saudi Arabia animation production company recently released the first trailer for its “Grendizer U” anime.

In a post on X, the company stated that it gave Fukazawa an overview of projects, partnerships, and role in creating content that it hopes would inspire young people.

🎥| سعدنا باستقبال معالي نائب وزير الخارجية البرلماني لليابان السيد "يويتشي فوكازاوا" في مقر #مانجا_للإنتاج 🇯🇵🇸🇦

وقدم الفريق نظرة شاملة عن المشاريع الجديدة والشراكات القائمة والدور البارز للمواهب الوطنية في صناعة المحتوى الإبداعي وتصديره للعالم لإلهام أبطال المستقبل. pic.twitter.com/0gQCtoTyMX

— Manga Productions شركة مانجا للإنتاج (@manga_prd) December 25, 2023

Fukazawa said he was impressed with the company’s work and looked forward to further collaboration between Japan and Saudi Arabia in manga and entertainment.

Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, said on X that he was honored to meet Fukazawa.

“I am pleased with his commendation of the important role played by Manga Productions through its talented youth, their capabilities, and their contribution to enhancing cultural exchange between Saudi Arabia and Japan, as well as developing partnerships in the field of the creative content industry,” he said.

Fukazawa’s visit received positive feedback on social media from Saudi Arabia’s manga fans. One user reacted to the video on X, saying: “Honor, pride, ambition, happiness. This is what we feel as Saudis.”

شرف، فخر، اعتزاز، طموح، سعادة. هذا ما نشعر به كسعوديين. نفتخر كثيرا بهذه الزيارة. زار معالي نائب وزير الخارجية البرلماني لليابان السيد "يويتشي فوكازاوا" قطاعات مختلفة 🇯🇵🤝🇸🇦 https://t.co/NcJmIOjcES

— サウジ Gundam 🇸🇦 (@Gundam_Saudi) December 25, 2023