Japan’s Master Animator to Be Honored in U.S. Visit

LOS ANGELES — When the schedule of events for the 40th Comic-Con International fan convention is announced on Thursday, it is expected to include something quite rare, even for a gathering that has pretty much seen it all: an appearance by Hayao Miyazaki.

Mr. Miyazaki, regarded by many as the world’s greatest maker of animated films, does not seem to crave publicity. He was a no-show at the Oscars in 2003, when his “Spirited Away” won for best animated feature.

And he has not been quick to visit this country. “I think he has an image of the United States as a culture that isn’t that helpful to the world,” offered Duncan Williams, chairman of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Yet the very private Mr. Miyazaki, in an extraordinary step, has agreed to address a room full of 6,500 admirers at the San Diego comics, fantasy and film convention on July 24. That is a prelude to his planned appearance the next day in Berkeley, where Mr. Williams’s center will present Mr. Miyazaki with its Japan Prize, awarded annually to a person who has brought the world closer to Japan.

July 28, should find Mr. Miyazaki in Beverly Hills, Calif., to be honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The night before, he will be in Hollywood for the United States premiere of his “Ponyo,” about a 5-year-old boy and a goldfish princess in a world gone awry.

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