2023
April 27
Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association (NAFCA) established.
May 19
NAFCA held inaugural press conference and launched its official website.
NAFCA also launched its first crowdfunding campaign, which ultimately reached 161% of the target.
May 21
NAFCA appeared at Freelance Summit 2023, hosted by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO).
June 8
Legendary voice actor Michio Hazama was appointed as an advisor.
July 26
NAFCA attended a meeting held by the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
July 27
The editors-in-chief of three anime magazines, Newtype, Animage, Animedia, joined NAFCA’s advisory board.
August 11
NAFCA held its kick-off event, “The Future of Anime Starts Today.”
September 1
NAFCA joined the ICT Startup League of Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as a supporting organization.
NAFCA continues to participate in the initiative.
September 12
NAFCA published the results of its survey on attitudes toward generative AI in the anime industry.
October 28
NAFCA held the event “Voice Actors: Past and Future.”
November 12
NAFCA visited the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters of the Cabinet Office and exchanged views.
December 6
NAFCA launched the first NAFCA Anime Industry survey.
December 22
Yoshinori Kurata, Fellow at Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation, was appointed as Technical Supervisor.
2024
February 11
NAFCA published its views on the formulation of the New Cool Japan Strategy.
February 12
NAFCA published its comments on the draft General Understanding on AI and Copyright in Japan.
March 27
NAFCA released the results report of the first Survey on working conditions in the Anime Industry.
April 22
NAFCA participated in a meeting of the Platform for AI and Copyright Stakeholders’ Dialogue.
NAFCA continues to participate in the platform.
May 1
In-between animation directors Rie Eyama and Tomoko Fukui joined NAFCA’s Board of Directors.
May 30
NAFCA spoke at an emergency press conference held by the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, reporting on the current state and challenges of the Anime Industry.
June 1
NAFCA joined the Arts and Culture Forum.
July 2
NAFCA announced the launch of the first Animator Skill Test and opened a dedicated website.
The test is held in five cities across Japan.
July 25
NAFCA published its views on the analysis of a joint survey with The Japan Research Institute, Limited (JRI) regarding desired hourly wages in the Anime Industry.
August 9
NAFCA launched its second crowdfunding campaign, which ultimately reached 191% of its target.
September 16
NAFCA published a Textbook and practice materials for Animator Skill Test, Trace and Tap-wari Test Levels 5 and 6 of the Animator Skill Test .
October 25
NAFCA launched an overseas crowdfunding campaign to create English versions of the Animator Skill Test textbooks.
The campaign ultimately reached 313% of its target.
November 9
The first Animator Skill Test was held at six venues in five cities across Japan.
Approximately 350 people took the exam.
December 12
NAFCA announced that scoring for the first Animator Skill Test had been completed.
The pass rates were 85% for Level 6 and 40% for Level 5.
2025
January 1
Tomoko Fukui and Shunsuke Sakuya were appointed as Representative Directors, and former Representative Director Masuo Ueda became an advisor.
March 18
NAFCA held an animator experience session in the office of the Minister in charge of the Cool Japan strategy.
June 7
NAFCA held its first Professional Regular Member networking event.
June 21
The second Animator Skill Test was held at six venues in five cities across Japan.
June 28
NAFCA launched voice acting experience sessions for people working in the anime industry.
August 15
NAFCA released the English editions of the Animator Skill Test textbooks.
September 4
NAFCA participated in the first meeting of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ FY2025 Demonstration Research Project on Comprehensive Animation Talent Development.
NAFCA continues to participate in the project.
September 8
NAFCA gave a lecture titled “The Current State of the Anime Industry” at the second FY2025 meeting of Keizai Doyukai’s Sports Entertainment Business Revitalization Committee.
November 2
NAFCA spoke at CINEMA CONNECTING JAPAN Public-Private Cooperation Forum in TIFF2025.
November 25
NAFCA reported on the current situation of Anime Industry at the general meeting of The Federation of Diet Members for Promotion of Culture and Arts.
November 26
NAFCA announced a partnership between the creator-matching portfolio ENRAI and the Animator Skill Test.
November 29
The third Animator Skill Test was held at six venues in five cities across Japan, with the newly established Pre-Level 4 category.
Approximately 250 people took the exam.
November 30
NAFCA supported Niigata City’s event “Learn from the Pros! Profession: Animator.”
December 27
Following the publication of the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s Report on the Fact-finding Survey on the Trading Environment for Creators at Film and Anime Production Sites, NAFCA issued a statement.
2026
January 8
NAFCA participated in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s First Roundtable Meeting of Animation Production-Related Organizations.
NAFCA continues to participate in the roundtable.
January 22
NAFCA published its comments on the draft Principle-Code for Protection of Intellectual Property and Transparency for the Appropriate Use of Generative AI.
February 13
In response to reports concerning “Seedance 2.0”, NAFCA published its views on video-generation AI services.
April 9
NAFCA announced its policy to fully launch activities as a research institution, with the aim of creating and accumulating academic research in the field of anime.
April 15
NAFCA announced that it would continue to hold animator experience sessions for people in academia, journalism, regional revitalization, and related fields.
June 8
NAFCA released its original anime, Hokuto and Kagemaru.