Kyoto, March, 2024

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Association Internationale du Film d'Animation - Japan Branch/ASIFA-JAPAN, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued understanding and support to our activities. I am Hiroshi Onishi, elected as the president of ASIFA-JAPAN since the fiscal year of 2024, following on from our former president Sayoko Kinoshita, who has devoted many years of her time and energy to our association.

ASIFA was founded in 1960, at the height of the Cold War, as the world’s only historical international association dedicated to building bridges of friendship and peace through the art of animation. It is a non-profit organization working actively on the principle that ‘The art of animation can be enriched and be greatly developed through the close international co-operation and free exchanges of ideas, experiences and information between all who are concerned with animation, and that animation, a universal medium beyond nations and languages, should help promote progress towards peace and mutual understanding between all people.’

ASIFA-JAPAN was founded in 1981, as the Japan branch of ASIFA, by 22 animation people, including Renzo Kinoshita, Yoji Kuri, Taiji Yabushita, Osamu Tezuka, Tadahito Mochinaga, Kihachiro Kawamoto, and others. The first president was served by Renzo Kinoshita and the second president was Sayoko Kinoshita. In accordance with ASIFA's philosophy and statutes, ASIFA-JAPAN has been active to promote the art of animation and international exchange. For example, we co-organized the “Hiroshima International Animation Festival” during 1985-2020, and have also been organizing the “International Animation Day” every year, since 2005. Today, we are a group of 77 members, including many outstanding animation filmmakers, directors, researchers, educators, critics, technicians, producers, distributors, and journalists, and are attracting worldwide attention as one of the most active ASIFA chapters.

While we are proud of these activities, I believe that we now must reconsider the meaning of ASIFA's birth. In today's world, we are facing the separation and division of countries and local communities because of the unbalanced competition generating the maldistribution of the wealth, the political intolerance, and the tendency to solve problems through power rather than words. We can say that the situation today is the same as when ASIFA was founded. It is precisely in times like these that ASIFA-JAPAN hopes to promote mutual understanding and share the importance of freedom and peace more than ever through culture, especially through the art of animation.
As one of our efforts to achieve this goal, we are continuing to work toward the realization of a new film festival, “International Animation Festival in JAPAN,” in keeping the spirit of our “Hiroshima International Animation Festival,” which was established by Renzo and Sayoko Kinoshita, and developed together with ASIFA-JAPAN members. Furthermore, we will focus more than ever on supporting the young generation that will lead the way in the future.

Thank you very much for your continued cooperation in our activities.

President of ASIFA-Japan, Board Member of ASIFA
Hiroshi Onishi

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