by Machi Asobi, a highly anticipated anime event held annually during Golden Week in Tokushima City, has been canceled this year. Since its inception in 2009, this event has been a beacon for tens of thousands of anime fans and cosplayers, filling Tokushima’s ‘holy land’ with vibrant energy. The event’s importance is further underscored by the fact that Tokushima Prefecture has dedicated approximately 800 million yen over the past 14 years, including 80 million yen in national subsidies for 2023, to support it.
However, a change in leadership brought about a shift in policy. Governor Gotoda Masazumi, who assumed office in May last year, proposed a new private-sector initiative. This change and the time required for preparations led to the event’s postponement. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding between the involved parties escalated into a ‘slap scandal,’ drawing criticism from fans within and outside the prefecture eagerly anticipating the live performances and cosplayers.
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The “slap incident” of the executive committee chairman Machi Asobi is usually held twice a year, during Golden Week and in autumn, by an executive committee made up of the prefecture and private businesses. Special stages are set up in parks and shopping streets, and various events are held in the city. Since its inception in 2009, the anime production company “UFOtable” (Tokyo), famous for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” has been involved in the planning for many years. Since President Hikaru Kondo was from Tokushima, the former governor Kamon Iizumi invited the company’s studio to the city.
The prefecture has also been on the event’s executive committee and has continued to support it. In May of last year, Governor Gotoda replaced Iizumi as the head of the prefecture.
At least as early as autumn last year, Governor Gotoda reconsidered the nature of the event within the prefectural office. However, the year ended without any discussions between the executive committee and the prefecture, which serves as its secretariat.
Then, on February 12 of this year, when the related event “Petit Asobi” was held in Tokushima City, the “misunderstanding” between the two parties (prefectural officials) became apparent. The then-chairwoman of the executive committee, a woman, said, “I want a staff pass.”
Prefectural employee: “We don’t have it prepared, so we can’t give it to you.” An argument broke out at the event reception, and the chairman slapped the prefectural employee. Unlike Machi Asobi, which requires a pass to take photos, Petit Asobi does not, but the chairman misunderstands.
The woman was one of the initiators of the predecessor event and had a solid attachment to Machi Asobi. According to the people involved, distrust grew as the prefecture was slow to discuss the management of Machi Asobi and Petit Asobi despite requests. Cancellation one month after “private initiative” policy On February 20, the week after the commotion, Governor Gotoda expressed his intention to hold the event under private initiative. He described that the contribution was too high compared to the prefecture’s annual expenditure of about 10 million yen on the Awa Odori in Tokushima City.
The executive committee met on March 6 and initially agreed with the prefecture to hold discussions on holding the event during Golden Week. However, on March 27, the prefecture and the executive committee announced that the event would be postponed, citing that “preparations would not be completed in time,” the executive committee also concluded its activities that day.
