Japan's government has unveiled plans to significantly increase the global popularity of the country's creative industries, including anime, games and other cultural content, to 20 trillion yen by 2033, which is more than four times the current market size.

This goal is part of Cool Japan's broader strategy, which aims to generate 50 trillion yen annually by 2033 through various sectors such as content exports, agriculture, fashion and tourism.

According to government data, overseas sales of Japan's content creation industry, mainly anime and games, reached 4.7 trillion yen in 2022. This figure is comparable to the exports of Japan's steel industry and is approaching the value of exports from the semiconductor industry.

Recognizing this, the government has designated the content creation sector as a basic industry and plans to provide substantial support.

To achieve these goals, the government plans to support efforts to discover new talent in the creative industries, address unfair trade practices that suppress wages, and strengthen cooperation with international authorities to combat piracy and counterfeit goods.

Prime Minister Kishida recently announced the revival of his unique Cool Japan strategy, with a renewed focus on promoting anime around the world.

The Cool Japan Program, which began in 2013, was initially intended to promote various aspects of Japanese culture overseas. By the end of fiscal 2021, however, the Cool Japan Fund had accumulated a debt of 30.9 billion yen (~US$228.9 million), prompting the Ministry of Finance to consider abolishing it.

As a possible means of overcoming the previous problems, the new policy will aim to “provide flexible and continuous support over several years” for the international expansion of young creators and artists.

Source: Kyodo News