Introduction

The Japan Cartoonists’ Association (JCA) was set up as a sole nationwide organization in 1964 under the chairmanship of the late Mr. Hidezo Kondo, whose great contribution was the political cartoon. The JCA provided Japanese cartoonists of all stripes with their first postwar opportunity to compare notes.

In 1985, the JCA was recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, and it had a new start as a public service organization of cartoonists. It’s current chairman is Mr. Takashi Yanase representing the cartoon community in Japan and its directors include Miyotaro Sagawa, Michiko Satonaka, Tetsuya Chiba, Fujio Fujiko, Reiji Matsumoto,Uno Kamakiri, Daiji Kazumine, Ryu Kumita, Takao·Saito, Sadao Shoji, Gijin Sekine, Eiko Hanamura, Keiichi Makino, Chikako Mitsuhashi, Kenji Morita, Monkey Punchi, Toku Yano, Masako Watanabe, who represent the various genre of cartoonists who make up the roughly 490-strong membership. The JCA has its headquarters in the Ginza district of Tokyo and 9 branch offices all over Japan from the north Hokkaido to the south Okinawa.

The association’s goal is not only to popularize cartoons, but also to support the cartoon-related market and encourage a two-way flow of cartoon culture with other countries.

Since the quality of Japanese cartoons places them at a level far superior to those of other countries and their variety is extensive, it is hoped that they may play a positive role in shaping the development of Japanese culture. At the same time, it is to be hoped that Japanese cartoonists might adopt the penchant of many of their overseas counterparts for taking a more liberal approach to the international scene.