Game-Changing Partnership: Nippon TV set to Transform Studio Ghibli into a Thriving Subsidiary

Nippon TV announced via an urgent press conference on Thursday, September 21, 2023, that it will become the majority shareholder in Studio Ghibli. This move will make the animation studio a subsidiary of Nippon TV as they acquire 42.3% of its shares. As a result, Nippon TV will gain control of the company and take over its management. The decision was reached by both Nippon TV and Studio Ghibli during a board of directors meeting on Thursday. Discussions about this acquisition have reportedly been ongoing since last year and were recently finalized.

Studio Ghibli acquired by Nippon TV as a subsidiary after roughly a year of discussion

: The relationship between Studio Ghibli, its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, and Nippon TV dates back to 1985 when Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was aired by the Japanese broadcaster. Since then, their partnership has only grown stronger, with Nippon TV regularly featuring Ghibli films on their Friday Roadshow movie program.

At an urgent press conference, Nippon TV chairman Yoshikuni Sugiyama was accompanied by Toshio Suzuki, the president and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, as they jointly disclosed the intended acquisition. Suzuki acknowledged that the pursuit of a "successor" for the studio's initial group of co-founders prompted the decision for the acquisition.

Suzuki acknowledged the need to plan for the future of their company, considering their ages of 75 and 82 respectively. According to Variety, it was disclosed that Goro Miyazaki, Miyazaki's son and a film director in his own right, had been approached multiple times to take over the studio. However, Goro Miyazaki declined the offers, citing concerns about managing the studio.

In a statement, Studio Ghibli conveyed, "Miyazaki Goro, the eldest son of founder Miyazaki Hayao and an animation film director himself, has been considered as a possible successor to Studio Ghibli. However, Miyazaki Goro has firmly declined, believing that it would be challenging to sustain Ghibli on his own and that it would be more beneficial to entrust the future of the company to others."

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Despite the acquisition announcement, there is currently no information regarding any intentions of Suzuki or Miyazaki to relinquish their positions. Tragically, Isao Takahata and Yasuyoshi Tokuma, the other two original co-founders of Studio Ghibli, passed away in 2018 and 2000, respectively.

According to The Japan Times, Toshio Suzuki, the President of Studio Ghibli, will assume the role of chairman, while Hayao Miyazaki will be the honorary chairman. Additionally, Hiroyuki Fukuda, the senior operations officer and board director at Nippon TV, will lead Studio Ghibli.

Recently, Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki released their latest anime film titled The Boy and the Heron, which is literally translated as How Do You Live? in Japanese. Initially, it was believed to be Miyazaki's final film before retirement, but it was later clarified that he would continue working on future projects after its completion.

Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.