Studio Ghibli anime museum gets saved by crowdfudning money

Have you ever been to the Ghibli Museum? It’s a magical place! But, due to covid-19, it’s a place in need of extra cash.

Last Friday, the city of Mitaka in Tokyo launched a crowdfunding drive in Japan, requesting 5,000 yen ($45) donations, which can be tax writeoffs. The crowdfunding site, however, is only for residents of Japan.

In the first 24 hours, ANN reports, the 10 million yen (roughly $90,000) goal was easily met. As of writing, the crowdfunding page has 22,156,735 yen, which is over $200,000 and 221.5 percent over the original goal. There are still 197 days left in the crowdfunding campaign.

The city of Mikata gave the museum a grant this spring; however, it is not enough to cover all the necessary maintenance and repairs. Thus, the crowdfunding project was launched to help the museum stay afloat.

The museum closed temporarily last year from February 25 to July due to the first state of emergency declared in Japan due to covid-19. It then closed again temporarily again this year from April 25 to early June. This has meant lost revenue.

Opened in 2001, the Ghibli Museum features a number of large displays and exhibits (I mean, there’s a huge Catbus, for goodness sake!). Upkeep certainly seems like a significant and constant cost, and without revenue, the museum could easily fall into disrepair. Tickets are pre-sold and only a limited number of visitors are allowed as not to ruin the experience. You know what would really ruin things? The museum running out of money.

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It’s great to see the Ghibli Museum get an outpouring of support. It looks like a massive stash of cash will be raised. (No doubt it’s way more than the studio could have ever expected.) Hopefully, that money will be poured into new, exciting exhibits that people can enjoy once things return to normal—or somewhat so.