- Japan prepares a new framework to manage overseas manga circulation.
- Authorities seek to stop revenue losses tied to fragmented global channels.
- New funding and translation tools aim to support long-term export growth.
Japan is planning a significant push for its growing overseas manga market. It intends to create a domestically sponsored platform that unites academic institutions, tech companies, and publishers into a single manga overseas platform.
This effort will centralize the Japanese manga distribution while strengthening Japan’s control over digital manga licensing. Additionally, the effort seeks to reduce reliance on foreign intermediaries and guarantee that Japan gains more directly from its own content as global demand for its IPs rises.
Japan Boosts Manga Overseas Platform to Fix Licensing Losses
Amid the broader anime, manga globalization wave, Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry reported that in 2022, manga-driven overseas publication sales hit ¥320 billion. Nevertheless, when it came to licensing revenue, Japanese publishers and artists earned only ¥25.6 billion, as most of the revenue went overseas.
Globally, manga is read through pirate websites for their free and easily accessible nature. Due to this scenario, industry analysts estimate total damages or losses to be almost ¥2 trillion. However, with the advent of the new platforms promising extensive catalogs of authorized content, piracy could be reduced, and Japan could retain its revenue.
Furthermore, the consortium will also deploy artificial intelligence translation methods and develop human resources capable of advanced translation, both of which are required for the distribution of multilingual manga. In order to strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors, the government would assist in organising international events such as manga exhibitions and trade shows.
Tokyo to Push Manga Exports to Strengthen Digital Licensing
The consortium also plans to make use of the Japan Creator Support Fund to support the government, which sees anime, manga, and associated sectors as important national exports. The Japanese government aims to increase international sales to ¥20 trillion by 2033, and intends to contribute an additional ¥17.5 billion to the fund in its fiscal 2025 budget.
This new Japanese government manga export platform is one of the country’s most significant measures yet toward regaining control of its cultural IP. It also indicates a desire to influence how manga reaches the next generation of readers worldwide.
