Amid continuing objections from the Democratic Party of Japan and others, preparations for the proposed National Center for Media Arts, or "state-run 'manga' cafe" as it is known by its detractors, have begun in earnest.
The first meeting of a new preparatory committee to hammer out a basic plan detailing the nature of the Tokyo facility, its administrative structure and program content was held Thursday at the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The committee's plan will build on an earlier report, issued in April, that announced that the new institution will engage in the research, collection and display of manga comics, "anime" animation, video games and digital art.