TAMAI Hideo / Commissioner for Cultural Affairs

Celebrating its 13th anniversary, the number of entries to Japan Media Arts Festival has greatly increased, both nationally and internationally. It indicates that many people are interested in and aiming for winning the awards at this festival, which I am very glad of as an organizer. At the same time, the international recognition of this festival has been steadily increasing, and I feel that it has grown to a point where it can be said that it is held in high esteem as a comprehensive festival of media arts.

Japan Media Arts Festival is targeting so-called media art, as well as animation, manga, and games. This culture we term media arts is continually changing day by day, along with the development of technologies and diversification of expression, so it is very important for us to select excellent works and introduce them at the festival without missing an opportunity. I believe that the steady year by year history will be the foundation of the future development of the media arts.

We are exhibiting a selection of works that have been through rigorous and objective screenings again this year. All of them are excellent, interesting, and reflect the times in their own ways. We hope that you will take this opportunity to enjoy the various artistic expressions.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the jury members for devoting their considerable time for the screening process. I also would like to thank everyone involved for their support and cooperation in organizing Japan Media Arts Festival.

HAYASHIDA Hideki / Director, The National Art Center, Tokyo

This year marks the third occasion to hold Japan Media Arts Festival at The National Arts Center, Tokyo. The festival received a record number of 2,592 applications from 54 countries and regions throughout the world. This shows that the festival continues to grow as one of the best media arts events in the world, which I find extremely gratifying.

In the exhibition hall, we present a variety of programs including an award-winning works exhibition, screenings of various film works, symposia, and introductions to media art-related festivals abroad. It is my fervent hope that many people will have a chance to appreciate the jewels of media arts from around the world.

Since last year, there has also been a great deal of discussion about what kind of steps we should take to promote media arts further. I hope that this festival will expand and deepen the scope of such discussions, as well as generate new ideas for promotional activities.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who extended a hand in organizing Japan Media Arts Festival this year.

IWAKI Hajime / Chairman, Computer Graphic Arts Society

It has already been 10 years since we entered the 21st Century. In many cases, year by year, I feel that what determines the value of things has become cultural value in addition to economic functional value. In these circumstances, perhaps bringing together highly creative and talented people is important for a country or a city, and festivals have begun to draw attention as playing a major role in this undertaking.

Japan Media Arts Festival, which started in 1997, has received attention as a unique festival where art and entertainment are fused. It has developed into an international festival, which attracted 2,592 applications from 54 countries and regions including Japan this year.

Japan Media Arts Festival is also devoted to introducing a wide range of award-winning works to the world. We organized exhibitions in Vienna and Linz in Austria this year and toured 22 festivals in 16 countries as the Japan Media Arts Festival World Tour.

In this way, Japan Media Arts Festival, which has two channels -- from Japan to the world, and from the world to Japan -- is changing to take on the role of a platform in the new cultural sphere.

Together with the diversification of media and the development of technologies, conditions of representation and culture are about to make a big change. We hope Japan Media Arts Festival will be a festival that positively embraces such trends and contributes to the creation of new cultural value.