Online anime fans have been joking that season 2 of
Cells at Work should tackle the rising coronavirus pandemic but the disease is starting to have a real-world impact on the industry. It was recently confirmed that
AnimeJapan 2020 has been canceled due to increased concerns about the virus. Just recently, the Japanese prime minister has called for all elementary, middle and high schools to close until April as the country attempts to stamps out the disease.
“
It’s extremely important at this time to curb the pace of increase in the number of patients as much as possible,” health minister Katsunobu Kato said during a government meeting with other health officials and crisis experts on Monday. “
Now is the time to develop a medical care system to prepare for a possible jump in the number of patients.”
AnimeJapan was originally slated to be held from March 21st through the 24th at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. Those who purchased tickets will be issued a refund, starting on March 6. If you recall from
AnimeMojo's convention guide, AnimeJapan is a convention primarily aimed at attracted foreign investors in addition to being a career fair for collegiate talent. There were several big announcements slated to be revealed at the convention so it will be interesting to see how the studios and creators pull back the curtain on their respective projects in the coming weeks. Will they announce it soon or wait for the next big convention?