Pop culture titan According to the government, Japan plans to grow its video game, manga, and anime export business to $130 billion in around ten years, a fourfold increase.
Japan, the country that gave rise to video game franchises like “Final Fantasy” and “Super Mario,” as well as epic comic and cartoon series like “Dragon Ball,” views the creative industries as a growth engine on par with semiconductors and steel.
The government stated that it wants to increase exports of these cultural assets to 20 trillion yen (about $130 billion) by 2033 in its updated “Cool Japan” policy, which was made public on Tuesday.
Japan’s video game, anime, and manga industries brought in 4.7 trillion yen in 2022.
“In recent years, content like anime and manga has played an extremely important role in attracting bigger and bigger young audiences abroad, serving as their ‘gateway’ to Japan,” the strategy document said.
A pandemic-fuelled streaming boom helped boost the global profile of anime, including franchises like “Demon Slayer” which has had global box office hits.
The growing phenomenon of “Vtubers”—virtual, animated YouTubers—playing video games is also contributing to Japan’s increased soft power abroad, according to the plan.
Japan aims to achieve an economic benefit of 50 trillion yen by 2033 by combining the expansion of these sectors with allied businesses including fashion, cosmetics, and inbound tourism.
Plans to intensify the crackdown on pirate websites that offer anime and manga for free in illegal languages like English and Vietnamese are also part of the agenda.
“Strengthening measures against piracy websites is essential to expanding the global market,” it said, warning that some of their advertising revenue can go to criminal syndicates.
“Swift intergovernmental action is needed” to tackle this piracy “crisis”, it said.
