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Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Praises Director Hayao Miyazaki Online

India's union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a congratulatory post for Studio Ghibli co-founder and The Boy and the Heron director Hayao Miyazaki on X/Twitter on Sunday. Philippines' Ramon Magsaysay Award honored Miyazaki with the award last Saturday.

Co-founder of #StudioGhibli #HayaoMiyazaki gets the Ramon Magsaysay award.
His masterpieces are “My Neighbour Totoro” and “Kiki's Delivery Service—can watch them any number of times.
Anime have much for adults and Miyazaki serves them like a magician. https://t.co/ymBxbxUoPG

— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) September 1, 2024

Sitharaman referenced his works My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service in the Tweet. Netizens shared the post jesting about a new "18% GST [Goods and services tax] on anime" and the like. Considering that Sitharaman was in charge of presenting the last five annual budgets in the country, a few quips were to be expected.

The former Union Minister of Defense assumed her current office in May 2019. Forbes named her as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in the same year.

The Ramon Magsaysay award, named after the Philippines' seventh president, and presented annually every August 31, honors "greatness of spirit shown in service to the peoples of Asia—regardless of race, gender, or religion."

In the award citation, the award highlights Miyazaki's "lifelong commitment to the use of art, specifically animation, to illuminate the human condition."

Miyazaki is the 33rd Japanese person in the award's history to receive the award.

Miyazaki rose to prominence in the 1970s on such television anime series as Lupin III, Future Boy Conan, and Sherlock Hound. He directed his first feature film, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, in 1979. He then adapted the beginning of his Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga into an anime film in 1984, before he and fellow director Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli.

With Ghibli, Miyazaki helmed the feature films Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises. He also co-produced Takahata's directorial efforts and directed smaller projects such as the "experimental film" On Your Mark and Ghibli Museum Shorts such as Mei and the Kitten Bus and Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess.

Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's latest feature film The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka) opened in Japan in July 2023, and sold 1.003 million tickets and earned about US$13.2 million in its first three days in Japan. It is the #56 highest-grossing film ever in Japan (as of September 7), and was the third highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2023. The film has earned 9.4 billion yen (about US$66.0 million) in Japan.

The film opened in Indian theaters on May 10. The film screened in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub as well as in IMAX format. It earned ₹1.85 crores (US$222,500) in its first week in the country and ₹72 lakhs (US$86,600) in its second week, earning a cumulative ₹2.59 crores (US$311,700) in its first two weeks. The film ended its run in Indian theaters with a revenue of ₹3.05 crores (approximately US$365,185).

The film won Best Animated Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10.

Sources: Nirmala Sitharaman's Twitter/X account, Hindustan Times