Oscar-winning Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki has come out of retirement to work on a new animated feature film, a producer at Studio Ghibli has said.

The decision comes nearly 3½ years after Miyazaki, 76, announced his retirement amid persistent calls for him to make a comeback from his fans both in and outside Japan.

"He is creating it in Tokyo, working hard right now," Toshio Suzuki, a producer at the major Japanese animation company, said Thursday on a talk show, adding he was presented by the animation maestro with the storyboard of the new film at the end of last year.