19. Japan International Manga Award 2025

19. Japan International Manga Award 2025

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs founded the International MANGA Award in 2007 for the purpose of expanding international exchange and mutual understanding through the MANGA culture which is widely accepted around the world. This award honors MANGA artists who contribute to the development of MANGA culture in the world.

Guidelines for Application

1. Purpose

   To spread MANGA culture overseas and promote international cultural exchanges through MANGA.

2. Award

   1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. 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).

3. Conditions of Entry

   1. 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 Both published and unpublished works are accepted, except for those that have previously won the award.
   2. Manga works eligible for submission must have been created within the past three years (2022-2025) from the date of application.
   3. Eligible manga works must not violate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
   4. 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.
   5. Entries must be submitted as data (PDF).
      Works drawn on paper must be photographed or scanned and submitted as PDF data.
   6. 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.

4. Applicant

   1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. Publishing companies outside Japan may apply for the Japan International MANGA Award if the copyright holder of the manga work agrees to the application.
   4. 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.
   5. 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.
   6. On receiving an award, the recipient’s identity will be confirmed (ID card will be presented).

5. How to Apply

   1. Application Period:
      April 17th 2025 – June 30th 2025 (entries must arrive by this date)
   2. Submissions
      When you apply, submit the following two documents.
      • Application Form (Forms)
        https://forms.office.com/r/NuzdMHUiWp
      • Manga Work PDF
        The work should be submitted with,
        • ONE copy in electronic form (PDF)
   3. Sending Address:
      • Application Form (Forms)
        https://forms.office.com/r/NuzdMHUiWp
      • 1) For applicants living outside Japan
        • Sending address for Manga Work
          1. Work in electronic form (PDF)
             An URL for uploading the PDF data will be provided to applicants who have submitted the Application Form, by the Japanese embassy or consulate in the country or region in where you reside. Here is the link to the list of Japanese embassies and consulates.
      • 2) For applicants who live in Japan
        • Sending address for Manga Work
          1. 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.

         

FOR CONTINUE, FOR THE APPLICATION FORM, AND FOR OTHER CONDITIONS, GO TO THE COMPETITION WEBSITE. – PLEASE CLICK –