Eight animation-related companies that plan to skip the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March to protest the metropolitan government's tightening of sexual expression in manga and "anime" will stage a competing event to run at the same time.

The companies, including Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., will hold the Anime Content Expo on March 26 and 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, they said. Kadokawa Shoten publishes the "Haruhi Suzumiya" teen novel series, which has been turned into a popular manga and TV cartoon series.

The eight companies in the event's organizing committee include the producers of such popular animation series as "Naruto," "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Pocket Monsters."The organizing committee will ask other companies boycotting the Tokyo fair to take part in their event.

The Tokyo fair, whose organizing committee is chaired by conservative Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, will be held March 24 to 27 at the Tokyo Big Sight convention hall. Ishihara has said the boycott doesn't matter and the event will go ahead with whoever shows up.

The amended Tokyo ordinance toughens regulations on the sale of manga and anime containing "extreme" depictions of sexual acts. It calls on the industry to regulate itself to prevent people under 18 from purchasing or accessing manga and anime containing depictions of rape, other sex crimes and acts "unduly lauding or exaggerating" incest.