Japanese Government Considers Subsidies for Ai Translation and Overseas Sales
The subsidy program signals a state-backed push to scale Japanese content globally through AI translation, directly addressing piracy losses that reached 5.7 trillion yen in 2025.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime News Network.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering 11.5 billion yen in subsidies for 15 media companies to use generative AI for translation and boost overseas sales. The program targets companies like Shueisha, Kodansha, Crunchyroll, and Bandai Namco Holdings, aiming to triple overseas sales to 20 trillion yen by 2033.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is weighing a subsidy package worth 11.5 billion yen (about US$71 million) for 15 media companies to adopt generative AI for translating manga, anime, games, and music. The Japan News reported Thursday that the program would also fund overseas events and growth initiatives. While METI has not named the recipients, the report expects Shueisha, Kodansha, Square Enix, NTT Solmare, Crunchyroll, and Bandai Namco Holdings among them.
The push comes as piracy-related losses for Japanese media companies hit 5.7 trillion yen in 2025, up from 2 trillion yen in 2022. Including merchandise infringement, total losses reach 10.4 trillion yen. METI aims to raise overseas subscription numbers from 100 million to 300 million and triple overseas sales to 20 trillion yen by 2033. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration has designated content as one of 17 priority fields for investment.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.