With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the hitherto slow transition of Japan’s animation industry from the Tokyo-centric traditional production methods using paper-based materials to a fully digital network that connects individuals over vast distances has accelerated. This coincides with an unprecedented uptick in the establishment of new animation production studios in the regional areas of Japan, and with incentives in the form of public subsidies for “regional revitalization” projects designed to mitigate the effects of depopulation, theoretically creating a mutually beneficial situation for all parties involved. This chapter introduces various examples of regional studios and analyzes their differences in approach, in particular with regard to the involvement with the local community. It illuminates their main function and position, be it serving as a contract-based independent entity, a subsidiary of a Tokyo-based company, or a studio developing in-house projects to subcontract work out for, thus earning license revenue.

South Korea implemented vertical as well as horizontal industrial policies in the 1960s and 1970s. Though they performed better than in other developing countries, the cost of the vertical policy outweighed its benefit. Industrial policies went side by side with the emergence of chaebol in a full-fledged form. Chaebol led the structural transformation of the economy, but they also led the production of non-performing loans, helping to deepen the 1979 crisis. In the 1980s, the government lifted vertical policy but strengthened horizontal policy while restructuring chaebol. In the 1990s, South Korea jumped into the newly-emerging information and communication technology industries with industrial policy. Meanwhile, the government began to promote small and medium-sized enterprises and introduced fair trade policies in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, chaebol emerged as global players in higher-technology industries; however, they had many problems, the financial market problem being the most serious, ready to precipitate a crisis.

In Chapter 6 we talk about what you need to do if you plan to set up your own community consulting business. This includes how to prepare a business plan, decide on your business structure, market your business, choose clients, find work, and get paid. We also share tips on how to manage the practical matters of owning a consulting practice. Some of the information shared in this chapter will be useful for those who work for consulting firms, to help understand the bigger picture of the business.

This chapter contains the second part of book’s study on cloud computing contracts.

The chapter examines how general contract law, as defined in the chapter, will likely apply to the use of cloud computing services. This chapter focuses on terms that are often considered standard in cloud agreements. The analysis includes terms aimed at keeping information confidential, non-disclosure agreements, terms regarding liability, warranties, and other terms and conditions aimed at regulating or limiting responsibility. Additionally, the chapter considers terms aimed at termination of services, portability and other provisions necessary for exiting services.

In addition to offering an evaluation of specific contract terms, the chapter also evaluates how governments might create better cloud computing contracts to generate more consistent and compliant results.