Japanese Government Moves to Abolish Cool Japan Fund
The fund's abolition, driven by years of losses and a lack of new budget, removes a major government funding source for anime and manga international promotion.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has decided to effectively abolish the Cool Japan Fund, the public-private company used to fund anime and manga promotion abroad. Newspapers report METI's budget request for fiscal 2027 includes no money for the fund, which has accumulated 54 billion yen in losses since 2013.
METI's decision follows years of financial trouble. The fund lost 54 billion yen since its 2013 launch, and Nikkei reported in 2017 that most of its investments that year underperformed. A Finance Ministry subcommittee discussed restructuring or abolishing the fund in 2022, especially if it was not profitable by fiscal 2025.
METI convened an expert panel in late July to streamline the fund, but without a budget in the next fiscal year, it could not make new investments. The fund's past investments included US$30 million into Sentai Holdings in 2019, a 2014 investment in Anime Consortium Japan, and a planned 2015 investment in Kadokawa's content creator schools.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Newspapers: Japanese Government to Abolish Cool Japan Fund