Japan wants to quadruple its exports of manga, cartoons and video games to reach the equivalent of 118 billion euros within ten years and compensate for the slowdown in the Japanese market, which is suffering from demographic decline.
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Sales of manga, cartoons and video games no longer progress Japan only 2% per year, compared to 6% in UNITED STATES and more than 20% in China. At the global box office, Japanese cartoon franchises and their feature film versionsas Demon Slayer, One Piece Or Spy x Family attract an ever-increasing audience from one end of the planet to the other, as our correspondent in Tokyo explains, Frederic Charles.
The Keidanren, the all-powerful Japanese employers’ federation, is asking the government to create an agency responsible for export promotion of the video game, animation and manga sectors. Inspired by the strategy of “ soft power ” of the South Korea which has overtaken Japan in certain content markets. The employers’ federation encourages Japanese publishers to create a digital platform to distribute new manga, video games and cartoons in several languages.
Power of attraction
The rise of streaming and the phenomenon of virtual YouTubers playing video games can only strengthen Japan’s power of attraction around the world. This Japanese content industry already generates sales abroad of nearly 28 billion euros per year. Almost as much as those generated by Japanese exports of electronic chips.
“ In recent years, content such as anime and manga have played an extremely important role in attracting a growing young audience from abroad, serving as a “front door” in Japan », Commented the government in its new roadmap.
By combining the turnover of the Japanese content industry, all media combined, with neighboring sectors such as fashion, tourism, cosmetics, Japan is targeting an economic profit of nearly 300 billion euros by 2033.
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