The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan established for the first time in 2007 the International Manga Award. The purpose was to expand international exchanges and mutual understanding through the culture of manga, which is now widely accepted all over the world. With this award, the manga artists are honored for their efforts to contribute to the development of this culture globally.

The applications for the 11th contest opened on March 17 and the final deadline is on June 16.

The participants are allowed to send only one work, 16 pages at least, it must be printed and the work should be produced during the period 2014-2017.

Entry fee does not exist and all artists worldwide have the right to participate, regardless of the age.

The manga that will take the first place, will be awarded with the Gold Award, while the next three works that will be discriminated, will receive the Silver Award. The award ceremony will take place in February 2018 in Tokyo and the winners will be invited to attend the ceremony (10 days stay in Japan) as an extra prize for them. They will also have the opportunity to to exchange ideas with Japanese MANGA creators, visit publishing companies and make an excursion to local sites.

More information can be found on the website of the Embassy of Japan and the official page of the International Manga Award. 

Sources: manga-award.jp, mofa.go.jp