Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli is set to become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network both companies have announced. In a joint statement both companies noted that succession worries regarding current president Hayao Miyazaki who is 82 and producer Toshio Suzuki who’s 75 had been a cause for concern.
The boards of both companies agreed on Thursday that the major commercial broadcast network will become Studio Ghibli’s top shareholder, with a 42.3% stake. Exact financial details were not revealed. According to Nippon TV, it will send executives to support Ghibli’s management, while honoring its creative independence so it can focus on animation and other artistic projects.
“At Studio Ghibli, director Miyazaki Hayao is now 82 years old, and producer Suzuki Toshio is also 75 years old, and the issue of succession has been a problem for a long time,” Studio Ghibli said in a statement. “Miyazaki Goro, the eldest son of founder Miyazaki Hayao and an animation film director himself, has been mentioned several times as the successor to Studio Ghibli. However, Miyazaki Goro himself firmly declined, believing that it would be difficult to carry Ghibli alone, and that it would be better to leave the future of the company to others.”
In the past, Studio Ghibli and Nippon TV have worked on joint projects such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which aired on TV in 1985. Nippon TV has also helped produce several Ghibli projects including Miyazaki’s 1989 movie Kiki’s Delivery Service and was also behind the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo.
Miyazaki’s latest movie, which is said to be his last one The Boy and Heron has been performing very well in Japan since its debut in July. The acclaimed feature which won the second prize at the recent Toronto Intl. Film Festival earlier this month has grossed over $53.830 million in Japan. The film will be released by December by GKIDS in the U.S.. Miyazaki won an Oscar for his much-loved 2001 masterpiece Spirited Away.
Sources: Variety, The Japan Times
