Japanese artist shortage sees KADOKAWA recruit overseas manga creators
KADOKAWA, a major Japanese publisher, is addressing a domestic talent shortage in the manga industry by actively seeking creators from around the globe.
This new strategy was highlighted by the success of its inaugural “Wordless World Manga Contest,” a unique competition designed to discover artists purely on the strength of their visual storytelling and artistic ability, without any language barriers.
The “Wordless World Manga Contest,” which concluded recently, attracted a remarkable 1,126 submissions from 104 countries and regions.
The entries were judged on their artistic merit without relying on dialogue or text.
According to contest organizers, the quality of the submissions was exceptionally high, exceeding initial expectations.
The eight winners have been paired with editors, and KADOKAWA aims to publish their work in Japan within the next year.
This enthusiastic global response has prompted KADOKAWA to double down on its strategy of recruiting overseas talent to address critical issues within the Japanese manga industry.
Risa Tomizaki from KADOKAWA’s Global E-Book Office and Overseas Manga Editorial Department highlighted the dire need for new talent as she explained:
“The proliferation of digital comics has led to a skyrocketing demand for manga, but the number of manga artists hasn’t kept pace.”
This has created fierce competition among publishing houses to find and secure new creators.
Domestically, the situation is further complicated by a declining population and the concentration of submissions at a few popular editorial departments, such as “Weekly Shonen Jump.”
This is in part due to the fact that talented artists who gain recognition on social media are often quickly monopolized by competing companies.
Noboru Segawa, the head of KADOKAWA’s Global Comics Department, explained that a key area affected by the talent shortage is the adaptation of other media into manga.
With an abundance of original works, especially light novels and stories set in fantasy worlds, there is a severe shortage of manga artists capable of transforming these stories into compelling comics.
Simply joining the domestic Japanese race for talent is not a sustainable solution, so KADOKAWA is now focusing on aspiring international manga artists, a demographic Segawa described as a “blue ocean” for talent discovery.
Segawa also laid out a long-term vision for the company, stating that “manga doesn’t necessarily have to be from Japan.”
He noted that with Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, creating manga exclusively for a domestic audience, especially younger readers, will become commercially challenging.
By contrast, many Southeast Asian countries have youth populations exceeding 50%, offering a vast, new audience.
KADOKAWA is establishing a global editorial system, with 19 overseas bases in Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia, to develop and deliver manga to these international markets.
To spearhead this effort, KADOKAWA established a new Overseas Manga Editorial Department in July 2025.
The department will work to develop international artists and support their activities, with the hope that KADOKAWA will find new creators who can produce global hits that target not only Japanese readers but audiences worldwide.
Source: Official Website
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