Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) held a 100-person Anime Digital Production Introduction Guide Information Meeting last month that specifically focused on how to improve working conditions in the anime industry and halt outsourcing to China and Korea.
Their solution? To create an industry-wide set of standards based on the five most prevalent software programs used at leading animation studios. The theory behind this decision is that raising the bar for animation standards will result in the exclusion of substandard Chinese and Korean animators.
What these agreed-upon standards are, how they will be implemented and how/if the government will force animation studios to follow them remains unknown.
While it sounds as if any actual law implementation is still a ways off, it's interesting to see that the Japanese government is finally beginning to address the financial issues plaguing Japan's anime industry.