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Anime Expo 2008 Keynote Addresses
posted on by Mikhail Koulikov
Anime News Network's coverage of the 2008 Anime Expo has been updated with complete reports on the four keynote addresses presented throughout the convention. The four speeches, spread through the first three days of the convention, covered perspectives of four leading groups on the future of Japanese popular culture in the U.S.
On thursday, July 1, Trulee Karahashi, the chief executive officer of The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) spoke about North America's largest anime convention's plans for the future. She was followed by Shigeru Kimura, the head of the Los Angeles office of JETRO, the Japanese governmental agency charged with promoting trade an investment between Japan and foreign countries, with an introduction to how the government of Japan plans to promote anime and manga internationally.
The next day's keynote speech summarized the success of Funimation, seemingly fast on its way to becoming the leading distributor of Japanese animation in the U.S., presented by chief executive officer Gen Fukunaga.
The final address, on Saturday, came from Vu Nguyen, one of the founders of the successful - and highly controversial - Crunchyroll online video service.
Keynote Address: The Future of the SPJA (Trulee Karahashi)
Keynote Address: Entertainment Platform of Japan (Shigeru Kimura)
Keynote Address: Funimation Entertainment (Gen Fukunaga)
Keynote Address: Crunchyroll (Vu Nguyen)
