10/31/03 (Tokyo, Japan) - As a large part of Japanese pop culture, manga has finally received a day of its own entitled "Manga no Hi" (Manga Day) which takes place on November 3rd. Manga no Hi was created by the Manga no Hi Committee which consists of members from the Japan Manga Artists Association and manga publishers such as Shueisha, Shogakan, Hakusensha, and Akita Shoten.

Some of the winners of this year's "Manga no Hi Grand Prize" are Takarazuka Kagekidan (performing group), Edo Wonderland Nikko Edo Village (theme park), and Beat Takeshi (actor). A representative of Takarazuka Kagekidan quoted, "In the past I wanted to be a manga artist. Manga gives inspiration to others and as a member of Takarazuka Kagekidan, I will do my best to inspire people in the same way manga does."

The winner for the "Manga no Hi Bunka (Culture) Prize" went to Kouchi Prefecture because it is host to a yearly manga tournament. All winners for the Manga no Hi awards receive 1,000 manga books as their prize.