Tokyopop To Shut Down U.S. Publishing Division

Yesterday, longtime American manga publisher, Tokyopop, announced that it would be closing down its manga publishing operations in the U.S. in late May. The announcement read:

“Today, we are sad to inform our loyal community of manga fans, our passionate creators of manga content, our business and retail partners, and other stakeholders who have supported us through the years that as of May 31, 2011, TOKYOPOP is closing its Los Angeles-based North American publishing operations.”

Comics Beat report that, after their last round of lay-offs, Tokyopop’s employee count had whittled down to just six people. It’s unknown what will happen to Tokyopop’s publishing licenses, but the company will still maintain its European endeavours and televisions projects.

In addition to the announcement, Tokyopop founder Stuart Levy’s blog featured a personal statement from him, which you can read here.