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Greeting from the Sponsor
Kazutoshi Sasayama,
Mayor of Kobe
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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time today
to attend the 3rd Animation Kobe Awards. That we were able to hold this event again this year is due to the wonderful support of everyone here, and of the animation industry as a whole, and for this I extend to you all my heartfelt gratitude.
The City of Kobe is moving forward with the Kobe International Multimedia and Entertainment City plan, known as KIMEC, which is a core project in realizing the revival of the city after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 1995. As part of this project, Animation Kobe was first held in 1996, featuring Japan's first awards for commercial animation. Since then, the event has grown to incorporate programs for the discovery and development of new talent, and for the promotion of a digitalized animation industry.
With this year's Animation Kobe the third one in as many years, the event
is becoming firmly established as an annual celebration of the best in Japanese animation. As part of our continuing efforts to expand the scope of this event, this year we have added an exciting new training program in which leading professionals in the animation industry teach workshops to aspiring young artists.
Today's Awards Ceremony and Reception bring together promising new talents in the animation industry, people who have produced marvelous works in the past year, and veteran artists who have contributed to the industry throughout their long careers, in order to honor them with the Animation Kobe Awards. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my unstinting praise to all the nominees for their outstanding achievements.
Animation is a collaborative art form in which producers, directors, animators, voice actors, musicians and others all play an important role. It is also an industry in which great growth is anticipated. For these reasons, the discovery and development of new talent is a top priority. We greatly look forward to the continuing activities of all the winners in today's Awards Ceremony, with the expectation that they will lead the industry into the future. At the same time, we hope to continue unearthing new talent in the next generation.
The City of Kobe, in addition to supporting the continuing activities of
the award winners, hopes that Animation Kobe will serve to advance the post-quake revival of the city, and contribute to the promotion of new digital animation technologies as well as the discovery and development of fresh talent in the animation field. Thank you for your kind attention.
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