After many decades of focusing exclusively on Japanese creators, the manga industry is starting to seek talent from overseas.

>To solve the talent shortage, Kadokawa is increasingly looking beyond Japan’s borders. The publisher recently held its Wordless World Manga Contest, attracting over 1,000 submissions from more than 100 countries. By eliminating language barriers, the competition focused on pure visual storytelling and uncovered promising artists from regions with younger, growing populations.

>Company leaders believe these markets, particularly in Southeast Asia, could become vital to sustaining manga’s momentum. With Japan’s aging population and shrinking youth demographic, finding creators and audiences abroad is no longer just an opportunity, it’s a necessity. The philosophy is clear, and it shows that manga doesn’t have to originate in Japan to succeed globally.

I don't think you guys realize how much this will fundamentally alter the nature of manga. As people from all around the world contribute to the industry, manga (and by extension anime) will start to feel distinctly global instead of *Japanese*. I predict we will see major Egyptian, Indian, Indonesian, Brazilian, and French works of manga, produced and published within Japan but very clearly not Japanese in their tone and theme, within a decade.