The Japan New Media Animation Art Festival—China·Xiamen Expo 2018

The Japan New Media Animation Art Festival—China·Xiamen Expo 2018 is being held in Xiamen Banlam Grand Theater in east China's Fujian province. It began on March 6 and will run until March 11 for free.

The expo, hosted by the China Arts and Entertainment Group and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, focuses on Japanese award-winning animations and presents them in new media forms.

Ryohei Miyata, senior officer of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

Genki Kawamura, born in 1979, is a famous planning supervisor in Japan. His representative “Your Name” brought in a total of over 25 billion yen ($ 237 million) in box office receipts. He acts as the creative planner of the art festival and wishes to convey the theme “CHARACTER” to the audience through various forms and methods.

The expo is divided into four sectors: art, entertainment, animation and cartoons, which not only display cartoons, animation, videos, web designs, and equipment, but also offer many interactive games employing cutting-edge technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR).

Genki Kawamura (first from left), Daito Manabe (third from left) and Tatsuo Nomura (fifth from left) at the opening ceremony

Genki Kawamura said that it was the first time the art festival had come to Xiamen, and he wishes to show the charm of Japanese culture to the Chinese people. He also noted that Xiamen has a certain base for an animation industry and could be a potential place for future cooperation.

Wang Chen, deputy general manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group, said that the expo "provides a good platform" for cooperation between China and Japan in terms of animation.

Wang Chen, deputy general manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group

Organizers hoped that new forms of exchange and cooperation in the arts field can be explored through this exhibition of excellent Japanese works. 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and the expo is expected to build a bridge for Sino-Japanese cultural communication.

The official website of the expo is www.mediaarts-xiamen.com/.