The American comic book "I Kill Giants" won the top prize in this year's International Manga Award contest hosted by the government to honor works produced abroad, while Chinese, Taiwanese and Thai artists also bagged some honors.
The Gold Award went to the comic created by American writer Joe Kelly and Spanish cartoonist J.M. Ken Niimura, about a socially isolated girl who immerses herself in a world of monsters and magic. It was published in the U.S. in 2008.
The winners of this year's Silver Award include Pan Liping of China, Cory of Taiwan and Tanis Werasakwong of Thailand.
The Foreign Ministry received 145 entries from 30 countries and territories. Among them, 38 were from Thailand, 21 from Malaysia and 16 from China.
The winners will receive their trophies at a ceremony Friday in Tokyo. The prizes include a stay of about 10 days in Japan, during which they will meet local manga artists and visit publishing companies as well as other places, including the Tohoku region, according to the ministry.
The international award was established in 2007 under the initiative of Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who later became prime minister. The prize is intended to promote Japanese pop culture.