(www.techinasia.com)

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Mobile application developer Line Corp. and three other Japanese companies have started a joint venture to promote its online manga business in the global market, Line said on Oct. 8.
 
Two of Line’s partners are publishers Kodansha Ltd. and Shogakukan Inc. The third is Media Do Co., an electronic book distributor. All four companies are based in Tokyo.
 
The joint venture, named Line Book Distribution, plans to start providing Japanese popular manga in English and Chinese within this year. Demand for online Japanese manga is strong in foreign countries, especially around Asia. However, few services provide the contents on a global scale, resulting in rampant pirated versions on the Internet.
 
Line began delivering comics to smartphones in the Japanese market in April 2013 under the name “Line Manga.”
 
Receiving contents from more than 50 companies, including major publishers, Line has distributed more than 80,000 titles on the service. It is now one of the most popular online manga services in Japan.
 
The new service promoted by the joint venture is expected to be the global version of “Line Manga.”