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Kodansha to Print Manga Locally in India in Hindi, English
posted on by Adriana Hazra
Nikkei Asia reported on Saturday that Japanese publishing company Kodansha plans to print manga locally in India. The company is aiming to publish 200 manga and other titles a year in Hindi and English.
The company plans to physically publish popular manga and children's books but will not publish e-books. It will also sell merchandise and organize events related to the IPs (intellectual properties) it publishes in India.
Kodansha India will be a joint venture with Japanese company Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) and Indian company IJ Kakehashi Services. Kodansha will contribute 81% of the company's capital, DNP will hold a 14% stake in the company, and IJ Kakehashi 5%.
Penguin Random House distributes Kodansha's manga titles in India and has so far, only imported the United States editions of the books. Kodansha has previously granted publishing rights for children's books and other works in India to local companies.
Nikkei Asia stated in its article that the company hopes to bypass piracy with its new venture. Small e-commerce stores and street vendors in India often sell bootleg copies of popular manga titles from Kodansha USA, Viz Media, and Dark Horse Comics at a fraction of a price of the original.
Kodansha Ltd. launched its manga distribution service K Manga for Android, iOS, and browsers exclusively in the U.S. in May 2023 and it became available in India in February 2025.
Shima attended Bengaluru Comic Con in November 2024 where she participated in live drawing sessions and autograph sessions with fans. The Kodansha Comics by Manga Planet India booth at Bengaluru Comic Con gave out free copies of the first chapter of the manga to attendees of the event.
Manga Planet India, Kodansha, and JICA collaborated on the Manga Shakti Project in 2023. Manga Planet India provided participants of the research project with seven free manga titles during the course of the project with participants having a chance to win a one-month subscription to read Kodansha manga titles on Manga Planet India.
Source: Nikkei Asia (Sui Yoshimi, Takanori Okabe)
