Name of the Event: The 18th Japan International MANGA Award
Place: Tokyo
Mode: Hybrid
Working language: English or Japanese
Last Date of Application: 5 July 2024
Link to Apply:
Guidelines for Application
Award
The Japan International MANGA Award will present the Gold Award to the best MANGA work, the Silver Award to three excellent works, and the Bronze Award to approximately eleven other works. Gold and silver Award winners will receive certificates and trophies, and Bronze Award winners will receive certificates.
The Special Encouragement Award may be given to a manga work that does not qualify for the Silver Award, but is more highly regarded than the other Bronze Award entries. The Special Encouragement Award will receive certificates.
Gold Award and Silver Award winners will be invited to Japan for approximately 7 days for the award ceremony as an additional prize (Special Encouragement Award and Bronze Award winners are not eligible).
Conditions of Entry
To be eligible for the Japan International MANGA Awards, the submitted work must consist of more than 16 pages. Both published and unpublished works are accepted, except for those that have previously won the award.
Manga works eligible for submission must have been created within the past three years (2021-2024) from the date of application.
Eligible manga works must not violate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
Entries must be the original work of the creator. Manga works that were primarily generated by AI, including plot, composition, and drawing, will not be accepted. However, it is acceptable to use AI-generated images as supplemental material for certain parts of the work. If AI is used, it must be declared in the appropriate section of the Forms when submitting the entry.
Manga works must be submitted in either electronic (PDF) or printed form. If submitted electronically, they will be printed for selection procedures.
Only one entry per comic artist will be accepted. Only the first entry will be considered in the case of multiple sequential works. All second and subsequent entries will be invalid in the case of multiple entries.
Applicant
Either the comic artist or the story writer of the submitted work must be a non- Japanese national. The representative who will participate in the invitation program for the Gold / Silver Award winners must also be a non-Japanese national.
The applicant must hold the copyright and other legitimate rights to the submitted work and have the legitimate authority to grant the Japan International MANGA Award Executive Committee the right to use it.
Publishing companies outside Japan may apply for the Japan International MANGA Award if the copyright holder of the manga work agrees to the application.
The applicant, as the person who has legitimate authority over the submitted work, grants the Executive Committee of the Japan International MANGA Award the right to use (i.e. reproduce, translate, exhibit and publicly transmit) all or part of the submitted work, for non-commercial purposes such as promoting and publicizing the Japan International MANGA Award and manga culture within Japan or abroad, in any medium, in any area of distribution, in any manner, and for any period of time, free of charge, without limitation.
The applicant, as the person who has legitimate authority over the submitted work, agrees that the original submitted paper entry will not be returned and may be donated or exhibited at public institutions or others.
How to Apply
Application Period: April 12th 2024 – July 5th 2024 (entries must arrive by this date)
Submissions: When you apply, submit the following two documents. - Application Form (Forms) - Manga Work The work should be submitted in either of the three forms below; a) TWO copies of the printed work b) ONE copy in electronic form (PDF) c) ONE copy of the printed work and ONE copy in electronic form (PDF)
Sending Address: For applicants living outside Japan- Japanese Embassies or Consulates (Check online for each address.) For submission, please contact the Japanese embassy or consulate in the country or region where you reside. Here is the link to the list of Japanese embassies and consulates. For applicants who live in Japan- -Application Form (Forms) -Sending address for Manga Work Printed work:- Attn: PIC of “The 18th Japan International MANGA Award” Cultural Affairs and Overseas Public Relations Division, Director General for Cultural Affairs, Minister’s Secretariat Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan 2-2-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8919 It is not allowed to bring your applications in person. Work in electronic form (PDF):- An URL for uploading the PDF data will be provided to applicants who have submitted the Application Form, by Cultural Affairs and Overseas Public Relations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
Technical Notes for Form Filling and Submission: -An Application Form (Forms) must be filled in either English or Japanese. IMPORTANT: The e-mail address must be entered correctly. -A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address provided when you complete the submission form in Forms. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within one day of submitting your form, it is possible that your e-mail address was entered incorrectly. Please review and resubmit the application form. -Please include a printed copy of this confirmation e-mail with your printed manga submission. -Please name the electronic files of the Manga Work as follows: First and family name of the Manga artist. (ex）TaroGaimu.pdf Please ensure that electronically submitted work can be printed on A4 size paper. In particular, for vertically scrolling works or webtoons, it is required to adjust the data by separating the frames so that the manga images can be printed on the A4 size paper in the appropriate size. Page numbers must be indicated on every page of the work. If the work is not a book, clearly indicate if there is a specific two-page spread. Additional printed copies may be requested for works being considered for an award. Manga works in any language are acceptable.
Selection
After the first round of screening by the Association of Japanese Manga Publishers, the 18th Japan International MANGA Award Selection Committee will select the award winners.
Award Ceremony
The award ceremony is planned to be held in Tokyo in February or March 2025.