Japan Cracks Down on Exploitation in $21 Billion Anime Industry

For Yumiko Shibata, being a voice actress was always a dream as much as a career. Bringing popular manga characters to life in animated movies and video games was rewarding, but paid so poorly that she spent her 20s working at nightclubs to make ends meet.

“I was playing heroines, but in real life I wasn’t earning a living,” said Shibata, now 60. These days, she also works as a home organizer, helping people de-clutter. “Voice acting as a profession just doesn’t pay,” she said.

Her experience is far from unique, according to interviews with more than two dozen workers in the industry. ...