Ken Akamatsu, the first manga artist to enter the realm of politics in Japan, has wasted no time since winning his election on July 11th.
The newly minted politician has announced via Twitter the creation of a new taskforce to investigate and support the preservation of classic video games in a playable state.
昨日は２０時から、デジタルアーカイブ学会法制度部会のデジタル著作権PT。
「プレイ可能な状態での、過去のゲームの合法的保存」について、専門家で選抜チームを編成して乗り出すことになった。失われゆく古いコンテンツのアーカイブ＆利活用は、私が強い熱意を持っている分野。これは成功させたい。— 赤松 健 ⋈（参議院議員・全国比例） (@KenAkamatsu) July 13, 2022
“Yesterday at 8:00 p.m., the Digital Archives Society’s Legal System Subcommittee’s Digital Rights PT,” Akamatsu said. “A select team of experts has been formed to start working on “legal preservation of past games in a playable state.”
He added, “The archiving and utilization of old content that is being lost is an area in which I have a strong passion. I want to make this a success.”
Ken Akamatsu ran on a platform of supporting freedom of expression in Japan. A staunch defender of Japanese artwork, and critic of foreign elements attempting to dictate how Japan should be run.
It would make sense that Ken Akamatsu would take up the mantle of supporting game preservation, especially as a growing number of gamers and collectors alike are attempting to take up the mantle themselves.
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