Studio Ghibli’s official website revealed on September 21, 2023 that Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV) acquired a 42.3% stake in Studio Ghibli Inc. and turn this company into a subsidiary.
The resolution was passed after Nippon TV and Studio Ghibli held their respective board meetings on the same day. An emergency press conference was then convened to reveal this information.
oshio Suzuki (L), president of Studio Ghibli Inc., and Yoshikuni Sugiyama, president of Nippon Television Network Corp., shake hands at a press conference in Tokyo on September 21, 2023. (via Kyodo)
Under the agreement, Nippon TV will respect Studio Ghibli’s autonomy and support the company’s management, while Studio Ghibli will continue to focus on producing animated films as well as operating the Ghibli Museum and Ghibli Park.
“Managing (a company) is difficult. We want to focus on production,” Suzuki said during the press conference.
The move, once completed, will make Nippon TV the largest shareholder in Studio Ghibli Inc.
The transfer of stock ownership is scheduled to take place on October 6, 2023. Following the acquisition, Nippon Television Senior Executive Hiroyuki Fukuda replaced Suzuki as the new president of film studio. Suzuki will serve as chairman of the board, while Miyazaki will serve as honorary chairman.
According to a press release on the official website, Studio Ghibli has been facing the problem of a successor for quite some time now. Director Hayao Miyazaki is 82 years old and Producer Toshio Suzuki is 75 years old.
While Miyazaki’s eldest son, Goro Miyazaki, was nominated as a candidate to take over the studio, he firmly refused to take over. Goro, himself an animation director, believed that it would be difficult for him to run Studio Ghibli alone and that the company’s future would be better left to someone else.
As a result, the studio was successful. considered many different candidates to take over the position of company manager. And last year Mitsukuni Sugiyama, Chairman and CEO of Nippon TV, had the opportunity to sit down with Toshio Suzuki and talk about this issue.
Suzuki proposed a proposal in which Nippon TV would support the studio’s management while Studio Ghibli could continue to focus on filmmaking. Sugiyama agreed to consider this proposal positively.
The board meeting held on September 21, 2023 is a result of these ongoing discussions.
Both Ghibli and Nippon TV have a long-standing relationship.
The network has broadcast Studio Ghibli’s works through its film program “Friday Roadshow” since its first television broadcast. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1985.
Nippon TV has also supported Studio Ghibli, including financial support for the production Kiki’s Delivery Service and established “Ghibli Museum, Mitaka” in 2001.
Source: Official website, Japan Times
