Kadokawa: We Allied With Google or 'Black Ships' [Part 4]

Mar 13, 2008 18:20 Tomohisa Takei and Takeyoshi Yamada, Nikkei Electronics

Q: What do you mean by "all of Japan can benefit"? Isn't it difficult to repeat the success that Hollywood movies have overseas?

Fukuda: The Japanese contents industry should look to the world market. There is no shortage of good opportunities. In respect to movies, for example, Hollywood movies are not always the strongest in every corner of the world.

In India, for instance, domestic movies are far more popular than Hollywood movies. Japanese anime films enjoy popularity in countries like India and it can be even said that they are more popular than movies from Hollywood.

Fans lay the foundations of a trend. They upload anime films to YouTube to introduce their favorite anime, sometimes even going to the trouble of translating the dialog. We can distribute the films to regular movie theaters or sell DVDs after the groundwork has already been established.

Those who want to see clear pictures will buy DVDs. People who have failed to see on-air programs or those who just want to see what it is like will view content on YouTube. Not only videos but also character goods and illustrations have a chance to be a top seller. Under the present situation, we are wasting these opportunities.

If you hesitate to take the step saying "under the Japanese Copyright Act...," you can do it in a foreign country (where legal restrictions are limited). If your overseas sales are equivalent to domestic sales, the income will double or triple.

However, in this case, the Japanese economy will slow down, because marketing is conducted overseas. In respect to taking advantage of content, we have to rise up together to form "Japan Inc" and challenge the world.

Our chairman frequently says "The current situation is the same as that during the period of Meiji Restoration." I was really happy that he said as one of the leaders of Japan, not as Chairman of the Kadokawa Group, "This is the time when we have to make a move at any cost."

Q: What was the reaction to the announcement of the alliance with Google?

Fukuda: After the press conference with Google, many users supported our decision on the internet and in other places. We really appreciate them. We will move forward step by step so that we meet the expectations of the users who supported us with warm words of encouragement.

We would like to go on to improve systems like this together with users. We aren't limiting our partners to Google only. We will welcome an alliance with any company, as long as they satisfy two conditions: respect users and protect copyright holders.

YouTube has been in this business for only about two years. We will see many other competitors in the future. If you don't properly understand the situation prior to a transition to a new system, you will fall behind the mainstream. That is why we ventured to take this new step forward.

• Kadokawa: We Allied With Google or 'Black Ships' [Part 1]
• Kadokawa: We Allied With Google or 'Black Ships' [Part 2]
• Kadokawa: We Allied With Google or 'Black Ships' [Part 3]

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