Photo/Illutration Studio Ghibli Inc. President Toshio Suzuki, left, and Nippon Television Network Corp. Chairman Yoshikuni Sugiyama hold a news conference at Ghibli’s headquarters in Koganei, western Tokyo, on Sept. 21. (Atsushi Ohara)

Beloved hitmaker Studio Ghibli Inc. will become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corp. while maintaining its artistic freedom, the two companies announced on Sept. 21.

The broadcaster will acquire 42.3 percent of the iconic animation studio’s shares.

“Ghibli has become too big for us to run on our own," said Toshio Suzuki, Ghibli’s president and producer. “So, we decided to seek support from a larger company while maintaining our creative independence.”

“And we’ve made a deal with Nippon TV, with whom we have a long-standing partnership,” Suzuki added.

Nippon TV has been funding Ghibli films and regularly airing them on its channel over the decades.

As its famed director Hayao Miyazaki is now 82 and Suzuki is 75, it has been long discussed who would take over the company.

Suzuki said he initially tried to persuade Goro Miyazaki, a filmmaker and Miyazaki’s son, to head the studio, but both son and father opposed the plan.

“Having Ghibli, with its excellent world-class catalog, as a subsidiary will be a great advantage for Nippon TV,” said Yoshikuni Sugiyama, Nippon TV chairman.

“We’ll do our best to support the studio in its future productions. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Hayao Miyazaki’s next film.”

Established in 1985, Studio Ghibli has released multiple hit animation films, including the Oscar-winning “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” both directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest work, “The Boy and the Heron,” is currently playing in cinemas in Japan.

The studio also jointly runs the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, western Tokyo, and Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture.

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