RAKUZA Inc. Appoints Former Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Takeo Kawamura as Advisor

RAKUZA Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Representative Director: Yoshiyuki Kai) is pleased to announce the appointment of Takeo Kawamura, former Chief Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as an advisor.

Through this appointment, the company will further advance its initiatives to preserve, inherit, and promote Japanese anime cultural assets such as cel art and original animation drawings both domestically and internationally.

▼ Background of the Appointment

In recent years, Japanese anime has received high global acclaim, and cel art and original drawings created during the production process are increasingly recognized as culturally and artistically valuable assets.

At the same time, cel art is a rare medium that is no longer newly produced, and without proper preservation and management, it is susceptible to deterioration over time. Furthermore, there is a growing need for more systematic and sustained efforts regarding the recognition of their value, their status as cultural assets, intergenerational inheritance, and international dissemination.

How should manga and anime—cherished cultural assets of Japan—be preserved, inherited, and re-evaluated within the context of art? As discussions deepen in this area, understanding of the cultural and artistic value of cel art and original drawings will expand globally, and the market for these assets is expected to grow steadily. We believe that awareness of the cultural and artistic value of anime-related assets, including cel art and original drawings, will continue to rise, driving market growth in this field.

In light of these challenges and evolving market conditions, RAKUZA has appointed Mr. Kawamura as an advisor to protect Japan’s treasured anime cultural assets and widely disseminate their value internationally, leveraging his extensive expertise in culture, education, regional revitalization, international exchange, and policy formation.

Moving forward, the company will work under Mr. Kawamura’s guidance to enhance the preservation and utilization of cel art and original drawings, elevate their status as cultural assets, explore collaboration opportunities with relevant organizations and experts across various fields, and strengthen outreach both domestically and internationally.

It should be noted that this appointment is intended solely to provide advisory support for the company’s business development and the preservation and dissemination of cultural assets, and is not aimed at lobbying any specific government agency, political organization, or individual case.

▼ Profile of Takeo Kawamura

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary and former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Mr. Kawamura has long served at the forefront of national politics, holding key positions including Member of the House of Representatives, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Minister in Charge of Abduction Issues, Chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, and Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Administration.

He possesses extensive experience in the fields of educational and scientific administration, education, culture, regional revitalization, international exchange, and policy formation.

About the NFT Marketplace 'RAKUZA MARKET PLACE'

RAKUZA is a Japanese-made marketplace specializing in NFTs representing ownership rights to 'cel art'—a medium that is no longer produced due to technological shifts in the Japanese animation industry. The platform enables the exchange of value by tokenizing iconic scenes from famous anime series as 'your one-of-a-kind right in the world.' Launched in June 2021, it has facilitated transactions of over 1,000 artworks to date.

As Japanese anime gains global recognition, cel art and original drawings—byproducts of the animation process—are increasingly acknowledged as legitimate art forms, leading to a surge in physical auction prices worldwide.

At RAKUZA, physical cel artworks and original drawings accompanied by authentication and certification documents are properly managed and preserved. Ownership rights are then tokenized via blockchain, transforming them into robust, asset-backed digital entities and enabling the global exchange of value for cel art and original drawings.

Additionally, NFT owners can obtain the physical artwork by BURNING (invalidating) their NFT. RAKUZA has established a system whereby users who wish to own the physical artwork can burn their NFT (item), and the corresponding physical cel or original drawing will be shipped to them. This innovative 'RAKUZA Project,' which combines NFTs with physical assets, represents a groundbreaking initiative in the cryptocurrency space and is a defining feature of the project, attracting significant attention.

The Significance of RAKUZA — Preserving Japan’s Global Cultural Heritage

As Japanese anime gains international acclaim, 'manga' and 'anime' are emerging as 21st-century movements in the art world. Recently, anime cel art has gained widespread recognition as art, resulting in skyrocketing prices for physical cels and original drawings at global auctions. However, cel art is inherently unsuitable for long-term preservation; if left unattended without proper storage—such as in areas shielded from direct sunlight—it will deteriorate over time. On the other hand, while digital data does not degrade physically, it has traditionally been difficult to assign lasting value due to its susceptibility to copying and tampering, unlike tangible assets.

RAKUZA addresses this by properly managing and preserving authenticated physical artworks with certificates, while simultaneously tokenizing ownership rights via blockchain. This strengthens their status as valuable assets and enables the global exchange of value for cel art and original drawings.