Studio Ghibli announced that Hiroyuki Fukuda will step down as president on June 22, 2026, and be replaced by Kenichi Yoda, a Nippon Television executive who has handled event businesses and served as the studio's main contact within the company. Fukuda remains a director.
Studio Ghibli has been awarded the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, becoming the first anime studio to win Spain's top cultural prize. The jury praised the studio's hand-drawn craft, environmental themes, and complex female protagonists. The award will be presented in October.
Cartoon Brew interviewed Atsushi Okui, the cinematographer behind most Studio Ghibli films since 1993, about the 4K remaster of 'Whisper of the Heart' and the theatrical re-release of 'The Secret World of Arrietty.' Okui explained that the remaster aimed to recreate the original film color, not to make the cel art as vivid as possible.
Video Research published the Japanese animation television rankings for the week of April 27 to May 3, based on household ratings in the Kanto region. The top spot went to "Sazae-san" on Fuji TV with a 5.9% rating on May 3. "Detective Conan" on NTV took second place at 5.1%, followed by "Chibi Maruko-chan" on Fuji TV at 4.4%. A special broadcast of Yoshifumi Kondo and Studio Ghibli's "Whisper of the Heart" aired on NTV on May 1 at 9:00 p.m. and earned a 7.5% rating, though it was not listed among the regular weekly rankings. "My Hero Academia: More special" ranked fourth among regular programs with a 2.7% rating on NTV. The live-action "Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: At a Confessional" film aired on NHK on May 3 and received a 2.1% rating. The ratings are estimates based on a household survey and do not include recordings viewed later.
The Super Kabuki stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke has released a video ad showing the main cast in costume. The play stars Danko Ichikawa V as Ashitaka, Kazutaro Nakamura as San, and Tokizo Nakamura VI as Eboshi Gozen. It runs from July 3 to August 23 at Tokyo's Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre, directed by Kensuke Yokouchi with a script co-written by Ghibli veteran Keiko Niwa.
Studio Ghibli announced that president Hiroyuki Fukuda will step down after the June 22 shareholders' meeting. The studio plans to appoint current board director Kenichi Yoda as his successor. Fukuda will remain on the board. Yoda, who joined the board in October 2023, has been Nippon Television's point person for Ghibli and handles event management at NTV.
The Princess of Asturias Foundation named Studio Ghibli the 2026 recipient of its Communication and Humanities prize on Wednesday. The award, often described as Spain's equivalent of a Nobel, carries a Joan Miro sculpture, a diploma, and 50,000 euros. A jury statement said the Tokyo studio transformed creativity into knowledge and communication, citing its hand-drawn craft, environmental themes, and complex female protagonists as a cultural bridge across generations. The ceremony is set for October in Oviedo, with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia presiding. Ghibli is the first anime studio and the first pure animation recipient in the category's history. The honor follows the studio's 2024 honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes. Past winners include Margaret Atwood, Martin Scorsese, and Meryl Streep. Cartoonists Marjane Satrapi and Quino won earlier editions. The foundation's announcement did not specify which films the jury discussed, though the citation mentioned values of empathy, respect, friendship, and love of nature.