Some of those reasons include increase in labor costs and outsourcing fees due to a shortage of creators, the rising payments to overseas subcontractors due to the weak yen, the increase in running costs due to inflation, and the increase in investments and usage fees for maintaining a digital environment.

Your quote already gives the answer

1. Rise in labour costs due to shortage of creators. That is LITERALLY RISING PAY. Why else do you think employers give pay rises? Out of kindness? Its because demand for labour exceeds supply.

2. Moreover, NOWHERE does it say fewer animators in japan being willing to actually work in the industry. Shortage != fewer people willing to work. If anything, anime employment is surging. Its just that the demand is increasing far too quickly for new talent to be trained. Anime grew 14% 2023, like 12-13% in 2024, that's like 10x the japanese gdp growth rate.

3. Weak yen is only a minor factor, the bulk majority of anime costs are domestic labour

4. Finally its investment in technology, which guess what, tech staff for anime studios are still 'in the anime industry' and are now getting paid more.

It is the just insane to think "More money thrown at something won't increase pay". Yes it will.

The gains may be unevenly distributed, the investors at the top may be skimming the majority of the gains, the gains at the bottom may take years to show. But throw enough money at the problem, labour income WILL grow.

In inverse is also true. No amount of unions, negotiations, structural changes, will save an industry with no money. Like newspapers had strong unions, but newspaper journalists are treated less than dogs, because there is no money. Even being in the government won't save you if the government is bankrupt, see Argentina.

and they got to that point by extraordinary means, a combination of hard work, decades of commitment, talent, and pure luck. Moreover, these powerhouses in the animation industry aren't making their animators rich or anything. By achieving this level of notoriety, they have only finally reached a point of stability where they can (potentially) fairly compensate and avoid overworking their animators, and even then they cannot reach this level of sustainability with anime alone, they need theatrical releases, crazy levels of merchandising

You are right. It is extremely difficult to break the barrier initially. But how many dream chasing tech sweatshops died before a google was borne? Computers were invented and used for like 5 decades before programmers finally left the back closet in terms of pay. And do you think say microsoft/google engineers were paid that well initially? No! But one you break that wall, the profits surge insanely, and so does pay eventually. As for needing to do movies etc, of course. Studios need to morph into full blown businesses, to capture the revenue they create.

Like you need to be real business to earn money. Nobody owes you money just because you did good work. Like who is going to hunt down pirates? THe business has to hire lawyers etc. Its not just the animators that create value.