Veteran manga artist exposes exploitative industry practices that are “strangling” Japanese mangaka 

Veteran Japanese manga artist Mayu Shinjo recently published an article describing “the biggest problem of Japan’s manga industry,” calling to attention the growing exploitation of mangaka by large corporations coupled with consistently low royalties. The post was prompted by the recent suicide of mangaka Ashihara Hinako. Ashihara is believed to have had her rights as an original creator disregarded by parties involved in a live-action adaptation of her work, and the controversy around the incident is still ongoing. 

Post translation: I wrote this a while ago but was unable to post it…It’s about what I consider to be the biggest problem of the manga industry. I think we need to raise awareness of the current situation and  make change happen on an individual level…With what happened recently, I’ve grown sick of the unchanging system imposed by large corporations. Please read this. The age of manga artists being exploited by publishers has begun. 

Mayu Shinjo is a shōjo/erotic manga artist that has been active since 1994. She used to write for Shogakukan (one of Japan’s major publishing houses) but she ultimately left the company to go freelance due to increasingly unfavorable working conditions. In her recent viral post, published February 14, she gives a detailed explanation of the reality facing manga artists , who, as she describes, “are being strangled by bad (business) traditions.” 

One of the major points Shinjo brings up is royalties – for print manga, artists have been receiving a standard 10% throughout the years. This low rate was excused by the need to involve various parties such as editors, typesetters, printing companies, retail mediators, retailers, and warehouse management companies in order deliver manga to readers.  

However, as Shinjo notes, even with the advent of digital manga publications, royalties to the manga artist have remained extremely low – most often at 15%, in rare cases at 20%. This is despite most of the in-between companies being out of the picture and the publisher having far less responsibility in the process than with print manga. 

Shinjo also mentions some personal experiences that indicate publishers’ attitudes toward mangaka. After leaving Shogakukan and refusing demands to give up the rights to her works, Shinjo attempted to negotiate with her e-book distributor directly to have her manga published and offered at a higher price. However, when Shogakukan learned of this, they attempted to threaten the distributor, pressuring them not to accept the deal. At the time, e-book distributors were dependent on publishing companies, putting them in a disadvantageous position. 

This has changed in the meantime, with publishers increasingly depending on e-book distributors to agree to host their titles, but publishers continue to take the biggest percentage of the royalties. Shinjo mentions that more and more authors are raising complaints about the low rates they receive, but that publishers do not listen, maintaining an “everyone gets that much” attitude. 

Moreover, it is common for professional manga artists to rent studios and hire assistants for their work, but according to Shinjo, this is paid by the artists themselves in most cases, meaning that their already low income is slashed even further by the expenses. 

Shinjo finishes her article by appealing to manga artists to question publishers about royalties, to ask for break-downs of percentages, and negotiate to have publishers cover assistant fees.  She pleads for creators to help protect the mangaka profession and not let themselves be exploited.