Editing Pokémon (section)

====Copyright council formed, merchandising expands====
<!-- Nintendo grants exclusive licensor rights to ShoPro -->
In the early months of the franchise, Nintendo was the contractual representative for ''Pokemon'', and thus the central contact point for all ''Pokemon''-related [[Brand licensing|licensing]] (the approval of branded products).<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=250 + 306}}.</ref> Around the time that planning of the anime begun, licensing requests for ''Pokemon'' started to increase, which Nintendo had difficulties handling due to a lack of (experienced) staff.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=294-295}}.</ref> Nintendo consequently granted ShoPro exclusive licensor rights. This was the first time that Nintendo of Japan (NoJ) granted licensor rights to another company, aside from its overseas subsidiaries Nintendo of America (NoA) and Nintendo of Europe (NoE).<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=293}}.</ref>

<!-- Copyright council formed, description of the licensing process -->
A copyright council was formed, headed by Ishihara. Beginning in April 1997, the council met every Tuesday, in the conference room of Creatures' office, at the Nintendo Kanda Building in [[Sudachō]], Tokyo.<ref name="Creatures_profile" /><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=391}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=55}}.</ref> Attendees usually included Ishihara and his secretary, representatives of Nintendo, Game Freak, ShoPro, TV Tokyo, and JR Kikaku, as well as head of the anime Yoshikawa.<ref>{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=55 + 157}}.</ref> Broadly put, every meeting had three types of agenda items: discussing ''Pokemon''-related events and basic policies in Japan, discussing Shogakukan publication plans, and considering [[merchandise]] proposals.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=392-393}}.</ref> For merchandising, the council set the bar high. Fiercely protective of ''Pokemon''{{'}}s [[brand equity]], Ishihara was unwilling to greenlit an item just because it had a picture of a Pokemon printed on it. To avoid the market being flooded with low-quality goods, Ishihara put very specific demands on the products he evaluated.<ref name="Iwata_Asks_2" /><ref>{{Harvp|Tomisawa|2000|p=272-274}}.</ref> Furthermore, in most cases, the council opted to contract one company for each product category.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=306}}.</ref> Because of this, most merchandise proposals were rejected: of the approximately 7,500 applications submitted in 1997, only about 5% was approved.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=384}}.</ref>

<!-- Examples of early merchandise, Pokemon positively affects Japan's economy -->
By March 1998, 35 companies offered licensed ''Pokemon'' goods, and there were approximately 700 ''Pokemon'' products.<ref name="Sato_(1998)_p118">{{Harvc | first=Tetsurō | last=Sato | year=1998 | chapter=Pokemon course for fathers | in=Ohtsuki | p=118}}</ref><ref>{{Harvc | first=Tetsurō | last=Sato | year=1998 | chapter=The Birth of Pokemon | in=Ohtsuki | p=142}}</ref> [[Tomy]] manufactured ''Pokemon'' toy figures and plush dolls.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=384-385}}.</ref> [[Bandai]] made ''Pokemon'' ''[[gashapon]]'', dolls and ''[[ramune]]''-flavored candy in a plastic box in the shape of a Game Boy.<ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=302}}.</ref> [[Meiji Seika]] produced ''Pokemon'' chocolate snacks and pudding.<ref name="Sato_(1998)_p118" /><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=300}}.</ref> The lucrative franchise provided a much-needed boost to Japan's economy, which was stagnating in what would later be called the [[Lost Decades|Lost Decade]].<ref name="Allison p. 194, 236">{{Harvp|Allison|2006|p=194 + 236}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | first=Anne | last=Allison | author-link=Anne Allison | title=The Cool Brand, Affective Activism and Japanese Youth | journal=Theory, Culture & Society | date=2009 | volume=26 | issue=2–3 | page=97 | doi=10.1177/0263276409103118| s2cid=145599508  | issn=0263-2764 }}</ref> An example of a firm that benefited greatly from ''Pokemon'' was food manufacturer {{ill|Nagatanien|jp|永谷園}}. From May 1997, the company began selling ''Pokemon''-branded [[Japanese curry|curry]], ''[[furikake]]'', and [[baking mix]]es.<ref name="Sato_(1998)_p118" /><ref name="Magic_p61">{{Cite news | title=Untitled article | work=[[Chunichi Shimbun]], morning edition | date=18 December 1997}} Included in {{Harvp|Ohtsuki|1998|p=61}}.</ref> In December 1997, Nagatanien was hit hard by the collapse of one of its biggest sales channels, [[:jp:カーギルジャパン#東食|Toshoku]], in what was then the third-largest bankruptcy in Japan's postwar history.<ref name="Pokemon Business Study Group p. 266">{{Harvp|Pokemon Business Study Group|1998|p=266}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first=Martin | last=Mitchell | title=Big Firm's Failure Rattles Japan: Asian Tremors Spread | date=20 December 1997 | work=[[International Herald Tribune]] | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/20/news/big-firms-failure-rattles-japan-asian-tremors-spread.html | url-access=subscription | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023160820/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/20/news/big-firms-failure-rattles-japan-asian-tremors-spread.html | archive-date=23 October 2022 | url-status=live}}</ref> Nonetheless, due to their ''Pokemon''-licensed products, Nagatanien reported net profits in fiscal years '97 and '98, despite having forecasted losses.<ref name="Magic_p61" /><ref name="Pokemon Business Study Group p. 266" /><ref>{{Harvp|Hatakeyama|Kubo|2000|p=385}}.</ref>