The Japanese government has announced its supplementary budget for the 2009 financial year: 13.9256 trillion yen. Of this the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) portion totals 1.3174 trillion yen, 31.5 billion of which has been allocated for ‘promoting arts and culture by establishing a “Japan brand” in film, animation etc’.
This includes 11.7 billion yen for the establishment of a controversial national center for the media arts. Debate continues to rage on the pros and cons of the project, which is attracting growing public attention, including a press-sponsored gathering on 4 June to discuss the significance of the proposal.