Kodansha announced that they will establish Kodansha USA Publishing in New York City. Through their new branch, Kodansha will directly publish and distribute manga in the United States under their Kodansha Comics imprint. The division will be led by Kodansha vice-president Yoshio Irie and general manager Tomoko Suga.

Kodansha USA will focus on their parent company's back-catalog of manga, with plans to become the exclusive label for all Kodansha titles. They will launch the Kodansha Comics label with Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, both of which were originally distributed by Dark Horse.

Earlier this month, TOKYOPOP revealed that Kodansha would not extend their licensing contracts.