Sony Looks to Africa to Ease Japan's Anime Labor Crunch

• Sony’s nonprofit arm launches a continent-wide program to train and mentor African animators.
• Partnership with JETRO and Kyoto University aims to link African studios with Japan’s anime industry.
• First participants from Ghana and Nigeria mark a step toward creative collaboration and workforce exchange.

Sony Group Corp.'s nonprofit division is turning to Africa to address a persistent problem plaguing Japan's booming animation industry: a severe shortage of skilled animators.

The initiative, launching this year through Sony's philanthropic arm, will provide online training and mentorship to animators at studios in Ghana and Nigeria, the program's first participants. The effort marks an unusual geographic expansion for Japan's anime sector, which has struggled to meet surging global demand for content despite hit series like "Demon Slayer" and "One Piece."

Sony’s Arc & Beyond Association is partnering with Kyoto University of the Arts, where professors Koji Yano and Kenichi Watanabe will provide mentorship, to deliver coursework covering everything from story development to short-form production. The program explicitly encourages African creators to maintain their own aesthetic rather than simply mimicking Japanese anime styles.

African Animation Studios Partner With Japanese Anime Industry

The first beneficiaries are Ghana-based AnimaxFYB Studios and Nigeria-based CR Motion Plus. Organizers plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the For Good platform to support the initiative and potentially fund trips to Japan for participating animators. Future plans include exploring formal partnerships between Japanese studios and African counterparts.

The move reflects growing recognition of Africa's potential as a creative hub. The continent's young, expanding population represents an untapped pool of talent for content creation, a resource other entertainment companies have begun cultivating. Walt Disney Co. in 2024 released "Iwájú," an animated series developed with African creators that follows a wealthy island girl and her tech-savvy friend.

Japan has lagged behind other nations in forging media partnerships with African studios, but industry observers say the Sony initiative signals shifting attitudes. Rather than viewing African animators merely as low-cost labor, the program positions them as creative collaborators with distinctive storytelling traditions.

The training program comes as Japan's anime industry faces mounting pressure. Domestic studios have reported difficulty finding enough animators to keep pace with production schedules, even as international appetite for Japanese animation continues to grow. Industry veterans say the shortage has led to burnout and quality concerns. By 2050, the number of animators working in Japan is projected to decline by nearly 30% compared to 2019 levels, with an immediate shortage of approximately 30,000 animators.