Japan’s ¥3 trillion animation industry has drawn fire for its shabby treatment of the artists and other staff on whom production depends. A labor sociologist who has studied the industry’s inner workings calls for measures to support freelancers and small subcontractors even amid the recent trend toward insourcing.
Background
Exploitative working conditions in Japan’s animation industry emerged as an issue of public concern some 15 years ago, after a 2009 white paper by the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) highlighted the long hours and low pay rampant in the country’s anime production studios. The report caused shockwaves with its finding that dōga animators—that is, the artists who draw the “inbetween” (intermediate) frames—earned a mere ¥1.1 million (at that time, roughly $10,000) a year on average. In the following, I look at the latest trends in animators’ employment status and labor conditions and discuss the challenges that lie ahead, drawing on a dozen years of field work.
I should begin by noting that basic working conditions for Japanese animators have improved substantially since 2009. JAniCA’s 2023 survey found that the average annual income was ¥2.63 million for dōga staff and just shy of ¥4 million for those involved in the genga (key animation) process, which accounts for the majority of those employed in anime production. Annual compensation in the anime industry as a whole (including upstream producers, planners, and writers as well as directors and animators) averaged ¥4.56 million in 2023—just short of the ¥4.60 million average for all private-sector employees in Japan (according to National Tax Agency’s 2023 figures).
Two reasons commonly cited for the improvement in labor conditions for animators are (1) competition for professionals capable of delivering the high-quality animated video today’s audiences demand, and (2) the impact of new labor regulations aimed at curtailing excessively long working hours. While acknowledging the importance of such market forces and regulatory factors, I would like to focus here on structural changes taking place within the industry.
Field of Freelancers
According to JAniCA’s annual surveys, the portion of animation production jobs held by so-called self-employed persons has fluctuated between 50% and 70% in recent years. This compares with a self-employment rate of just 7.6% for the entire labor force in 2022 (according to the government’s Employment Status Survey). As these figures suggest, an exceptionally large percentage of those working in Japan’s anime industry are independent contractors, or freelancers, with no permanent employment status.
Generally speaking, freelancers and other external contractors—whose numbers have been on the rise in Japan in recent years—receive unfavorable treatment compared with in-house employees. The Freelance Association’s 2025 Furīransu hakusho (Freelance White Paper) reports that 47.2% of the freelancers surveyed earned less than ¥4 million during the previous year.
Because outsourcing is associated with wage and benefit inequality, many labor experts have advocated policies to encourage the maximum use of in-house employees. No doubt the simplest way of improving the overall labor environment is to place as many workers as possible under the protections Japanese law affords to company employees. As it happens, such a shift already appears to be underway in Japan’s anime industry, as I explain below.
But Japan’s traditional employment system and corporate culture have also fostered a host of problems, extending even to death from overwork. Under the circumstances, it is surely desirable for Japanese society to accommodate other modes of employment as well. I believe that, in addition to providing more in-house opportunities, we should be looking for ways to maintain a sustainable working environment for freelancers.
Insourcing on the Rise
For some time now, the majority of Japan’s anime production studios, heavily concentrated in Tokyo, have been small-scale subcontractors specializing in one particular phase or aspect of the animation process. Sometime in the 2010s, however, the tide began to shift toward insourcing, with entertainment conglomerates and large production companies taking direct control over more of the processes involved. Dwindling profit margins resulting largely from the rise of digital media were squeezing the smaller studios and pushing the larger companies to save on outsourcing costs. Mergers and acquisitions have also contributed to vertical integration and industry consolidation in recent years.
The trend toward insourcing appears to have had the effect of boosting opportunities for permanent employment in the industry. Generally speaking, companies that produce their own products in-house on an ongoing basis accumulate institutional know-how that must be transmitted to their employees, requiring a long-term investment in human resource development. This is the basic thinking behind the traditional “membership” style of Japanese employment, under which big corporations mass-hire new graduates to be trained as lifelong employees.
At this time, we lack the sort of longitudinal data needed to systematically track changes in the anime industry’s labor force and the impact of such changes on working conditions. But in JAniCA’s 2023 survey, the ratio of freelance and other self-employed animators had dropped to 47.3% from 69.6% in 2019. And working in the field, I have gotten the distinct impression that permanent employment is on the rise among young animators. It seems reasonable to conclude that the trend toward insourcing is leading to a rise in in-house employment and that this, in turn, has contributed to the aforementioned increase in average annual income.
Saving the Small Studios
As the trend toward permanent hiring driven by insourcing progresses, more animators will be protected by labor laws covering in-house employees, leading to an overall improvement in working conditions in the industry. But the same trend could further exacerbate inequality between the industry’s top players and the smaller firms. Even if insourcing continues to progress among the entertainment giants, streaming platforms, and major animation studios, small subcontractors will continue to play a significant role in the process.
It would be a mistake to imagine that the problem will disappear as smaller studios are absorbed by the big players. In a field like anime, where creativity and artistry are at a premium, talented corporate employees are bound to strike out on their own to work freelance or launch their own small studios. Having a business environment where such independent spirits can flourish is a good thing both for consumers (who cherish anime’s diversity and creativity) and, ultimately, for the sustainability of the industry itself. After all, small studios, with their flexible thinking and innovative approaches, have been key contributors to anime’s current success.
Another trend that could have major implications for the anime industry is geographical dispersion. Big production studios have been setting up branch offices outside the Tokyo area for some time, but now a growing number of independent creators, including experienced animators and directors, are starting to relocate and establish studios in the regions. These trends could open up opportunities for young people around the country who want to get into the industry but are deterred by the prospect of moving to the Tokyo area. Alongside steps to address working conditions among small subcontractors, we should be looking at measures to promote and support these regional studios.
Toward a Community of Freelancers
We have looked briefly at the medium- and long-term challenges that need to be addressed in order to improve labor conditions for freelance animators and small subcontractors. Now let us consider some concrete policies geared to those objectives.
As I see it, one of the most important things we can do is to encourage the formation of communities of freelancers and build systems to support such networks. There is a tendency to think of freelance animators as lone wolves working in isolation. But facilitating interaction and collaboration among freelancers is one of the keys to providing a productive and healthy working environment. A community offering mutual support in the form of professional information and upskilling resources is vitally important for the long-term career development of freelance animators.
There has already been some movement in this direction. Rengō (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) launched its Wor-Q Advisory Board in November 2022 and held a Freelance Summit in November 2024 as part of its effort to establish forums where freelancers can air their concerns and share solutions. Within the anime industry, veterans in the field have begun opening mini-schools and sponsoring networking events for young and aspiring animators. It might make sense for local governments to institute grant programs to support such networking efforts.
At the same time, much remains to be done in terms of guaranteeing basic legal protections for freelance workers in Japan. The so-called Freelance Act enacted in 2024 skirted several important issues, including the question of fair compensation. Japan’s social-insurance system is also strongly biased in favor of in-house workers. And while this situation is by no means unique to Japan, there are also countries where external contractors are entitled to the same benefits (such as unemployment insurance) as payroll employees. The anime industry as a whole stands to benefit from further reform of labor policies, laws, and regulations pertaining to freelance work.
Today anime is recognized as one of Japan’s core industries. To ensure a decent work environment for the animators who support this pillar of the economy, we must take steps to address the pay and benefits gap between in-house employees and independent contractors while soberly evaluating labor trends within the industry.
(Originally published in Japanese. Banner image: Gorodenkoff-stock.adobe.com.)
AloJapan.com