TOKYO: Japan’s Sony Group Corp. on Thursday unveiled a strategy to boost its anime business, aiming to make it a new cornerstone of its entertainment operations alongside games, music, and movies.

The electronics and entertainment giant said at a corporate strategy briefing that it will put efforts into production and distribution of high-quality works and into support for creators, such as introducing production software to streamline workflows and developing talent.

“Anime is world-class entertainment,” Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida said. “We want to contribute to it through creation.”

Sony Group plans to introduce software on a trial basis to help digitalize anime production and consider establishing an organization to train foreign anime creators.

Companies in the group include Aniplex Inc., a Tokyo-based anime studio behind the “Demon Slayer” series, and U.S. anime distributor Crunchyroll LLC, acquired in 2021.

“Globally successful content will contribute to the Japanese anime industry,” President Hiroki Totoki said.

JIJI Press