The ZEN University Content Industry History Archive Research Center (HARC) released the fifth installment of its "Oral History Collection," which records video and transcripts of testimonies from leading figures in various fields related to Japan's content industry, on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 (some installments on Friday, November 28).

Hiroi Oji is a writer, director and character creator who has worked on many works including "Mashhin Hero Wataru," "Tengai Makyou," and "Sakura Wars," as well as anime, games, stage plays, and TV dramas.

Masaki Tsuji is a screenwriter and novelist who has written the scripts for numerous anime works, including "Astro Boy" and "Devilman," and has supported Japanese anime since its early days.

Haruhiko Suzuki, who was assigned to the Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department at Shueisha and was in charge of works such as "Captain Tsubasa" and "Ring ni Kakero," and served as editor-in-chief of Super Jump.

The next oral history update is scheduled for Wednesday, November 26th.

Passing on Valuable Testimonies of the Development of Japan's Content Industry as a Historical Asset to Future Generations

HARC's Oral History Collection is an initiative to preserve for future generations, through video and transcripts, testimonies from people active in the content industry, including games, animation, and manga, as well as the IT and internet culture fields that have created these industries.

While Japan's content industry has contributed to increasing international cultural influence and revitalizing the economy, many of the testimonies of those who supported it behind the scenes are already being lost, and there are few objective critiques or research results based on historical facts. By making oral history available as a historical asset for social use, such as research, education, and business creation, HARC hopes to pass on knowledge to future generations in the content industry. We have already conducted interviews with over 60 people, and plan to continue releasing more as part of our oral history collection.

[Oral History Collection List] *Titles omitted

<IT>
Tomio Goto (Former Director of NEC Corporation / Japan Personal Computer Museum, developer of the "TK-80" microcomputer kit)
Masao Suga (Former Toshiba Corporation / developer of the "Dynabook" and inventor of the "SD card")
Norio Murakami (Former CEO of Google Japan)
Keiji Takao (Former J-Phone / inventor of "Shamail")
Masaaki Hagino (Voyager / digital publishing business)
Hidetoshi Nishimori (IT / Tokyo University of Science, proponent of "quantum annealing")
Yoji Takemura (IT / former IBM Japan, DOS/V product planning) and Toshimasa Taketane (IT / former IBM Japan, promotion staff member of the OADG Council)
Kazunori Ukikawa and Hatsuko Ukikawa (IT/Founders of JustSystems, "Ichitaro," etc.)
Hiroyuki Suetaka (IT/Former Casio Computer, creator of the world's first LCD digital camera, "QV10," etc.)

<Game>
Keiko Erikawa (Honorary Chairman and Director of Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd.)
Yoichi Erikawa (Chairman and Representative Director of Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd.) Chairman of the Board of Directors/Founder)
Yasuhiro Fukushima (Founder of the former Enix Co., Ltd.)
Shigeru Yamashita (Advisor to Sega Faive Co., Ltd./Former Chairman of the Japan Amusement Industry Association)
Osamu Satomi (Founder of Sammy, Chairman and Representative Director of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.)
Hiroi Oji (Director, Character Maker, Founder of Red Entertainment Inc.) NEW!

<Manga>
Machiko Satonaka (Manga Artist/"The Maidens of Aries," "Rainbow in the Sky," etc.)
Mitsuru Sugaya (Manga Artist/"Game Center Storm," etc.)
Haruhiko Suzuki (Editor / Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department, "Captain Tsubasa" and "Ring ni Kakero" etc.) NEW!

<Animation>
Yoichi Ogawa (President and CEO of Shirogumi Co., Ltd.)
Sunao Katabuchi (Animation Film Director/"In This Corner of the World," etc.)
Tatsuo Shimamura (Founder of Shirogumi Co., Ltd.)
Keiichi Hara (Animation Director/"Crayon Shin-chan," etc.)
Masao Maruyama (Animation/Madhouse, MAPPA, Studio M2) Founder)
Nozomi Takahashi (Anime Producer)
Masaki Tsuji (anime scriptwriter and author / "Astro Boy" "Devilman" etc.) NEW!

<Internet Culture>
Jun Murai (Computer Scientist / "Father of the Internet in Japan")
Takashi Yamakawa (Former Nissho Iwai Corporation / Contributed to the creation of "NiftyServe")
Rei Tanii (Internet Culture / Founder of Maho no iLand)
Kazuhiko Hachiya (Internet Culture / Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, Media Artist, Developer of "PostPet")

Others