Japan can ride the anime wave to become the new soft superpower

Japan Times

2 days ago

In today's rapidly evolving entertainment landscape, Japan is in a unique and privileged position.
As global streaming giants battle for market share, Japan has something that can't be manufactured overnight: Decades worth of cultural content that has proven its global appeal. Anime has become Japan's most powerful soft power tool and provides a springboard for further expansion.
This is a pivotal moment for "Peak Japan" — a term used by some to signal that the country has passed its prime and by others to indicate its stellar global popularity. Japan possesses the creative foundations to become a dominant player in global streaming content, but this requires coordinated action between government and industry.
For a nation that has often struggled to project soft power proportional to its economic might, the streaming revolution offers a rare second chance. It is estimated that a small fraction of Japan's vast manga catalog has been made into animation, allowing room for immediate growth that could establish Japan as an entertainment powerhouse for decades to come.
Japanese anime captured $19.8 billion in global revenue in 2023, according to data from the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), which brings together dozens of production companies, and New Zealand firm Parrot Analytics. And this industry that has finally been recognized by the government as one of strategic importance and as an economic multiplier in the recently revised "New Cool Japan Strategy."
This success is the fruit of decades of creative development and artistic innovation that has resonated across the world, laying the groundwork for peak cultural awareness of Japan internationally.
As Japan considers its position in the global media ecosystem, it needs to acknowledge a fundamental shift: Content is no longer constrained by national borders or language barriers. Streaming platforms have democratized access to entertainment and Japan sits in an enviable position with a vast array of compelling content ready for global consumption.
Another consideration is that Generation Z viewers differ fundamentally from previous cohorts. These young consumers don't see foreign-language content as "foreign" but, instead, as compelling stories worth experiencing. As digital natives, they have grown up watching YouTube, Netflix and the like and don't mind subtitles or dubbing.
Japanese storytelling, with its distinctive narrative approaches and aesthetics, has found remarkable resonance with international Gen Z audiences. This demographic, which is just now growing into its significant purchasing power, isn't merely consuming Japanese content but embracing it as part of its identity.
From anime-inspired fashion to Japanese vocabulary seeping into everyday English, we are witnessing cultural influence that extends far beyond mere entertainment. Famously, American sprinter Noah Lyles celebrated his gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Paris Olympics last summer by making the "Kamehameha" gesture — an energy-blast attack from "Dragon Ball Z." The world's fastest man on the world's biggest sporting stage used this Japanese cultural symbol to mark his win.
Yet while anime leads in Japanese soft-power exports, it should be viewed not as a destination but as a gateway to expand other areas. For example, according to the AJA and Parrot Analytics survey, merchandise sales typically generate three times the revenue of streaming anime itself, representing a significant economic opportunity.
Last year, FX's 'Shogun' was one of the world's most popular TV shows, making history as the production with the most Emmy wins in a single year. However, the historical drama set in Momoyama Period (1573-1603) Japan is an American production written by a Brit and filmed mostly in Canada. To fully realize its potential, Japan should be taking the big swings with its own stories and content.
It would be wise to study South Korea's Hallyu wave carefully. This involves promoting not just K-dramas but K-pop and South Korean fashion, beauty products and cuisine as well; an approach that offers a blueprint for comprehensive cultural influence.
It is no accident that South Korean content has risen to the top of the global entertainment business. This is the result of a thoughtful, well-funded strategy that allows for failures while generating huge successes, such as the film 'Parasite,' the TV series 'Squid Game,' the boy band BTS and girl group Blackpink, to name a few.
Japan must position its film, television, music and merchandise for coordinated global distribution, with creative industries aligning around this shared objective instead of operating in separate domains.
Partnerships with global streaming platforms represent a key opportunity as these services actively seek international content to differentiate themselves. Japan's production ecosystem, with its established studios and talent pools, offers advantages compared to Western markets struggling with rising production costs.
Washington's recent threat that it will slap tariffs on movies coming to the United States from abroad only increases the urgency of a deeper involvement with streamers around the world, including in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Asia-Pacific, with its rapidly expanding middle class and high level of digital adoption, should serve as Japan's primary expansion target. Starting with a regional focus allows for strategies to be refined before broadening horizons to the global stage.
Despite all these opportunities, significant challenges remain. Japan must adapt its traditional, domestic market-focused business practices to international standards, particularly when it comes to licensing, release windows and distribution rights. In addition, digital transformation in the Japanese entertainment industry — including embracing big data and using advanced analytics — isn't optional; it is essential.
Japanese creators — traditionally underpaid compared to their global counterparts — need to receive fair compensation as their work reaches increasingly international audiences. The traditional production committee model also requires reconsideration: While streamers like to negotiate for global rights, production committees have many stakeholders and may want to divide rights by region. This makes negotiations slower, difficult and less efficient, ultimately pushing streamers to opt for making their own products instead.
Investments in technical infrastructure such as subtitling, dubbing and, critically, data analytic capabilities will determine whether Japan controls its destiny or merely supplies content to foreign platforms that capture most of the value. These investments should come from the Japan side, either from government or industry, to ensure a modicum of control.
Meanwhile, competition is intensifying. China, South Korea and, increasingly, Southeast Asian players are investing heavily in content production, threatening Japan's current advantage. The No. 1 animated box office success of all time is China's 'Ne Zha 2,' which grossed over $2 billion worldwide.
Monetary gains of this scale allow the Chinese entertainment industry to reinvest and adapt its products to achieve even broader appeal. The soft-power game is a big money investment and Japan must be willing to pay to play.
The global streaming revolution offers unprecedented opportunities to share stories with the world while building economic strength through cultural exports. The question is whether Japan will seize this moment or watch as others, such as the streaming and digital platforms, capitalize on the foundations it has built by becoming the gatekeepers of our attention.
Increased efforts to bring together studios, streaming platforms and government agencies to develop coherent strategies for global expansion will be needed. For a nation at the height of its cultural influence, the time to act is now. Japan shouldn't play a supporting role in its own story.
Douglas Montgomery is an entertainment and retail researcher and analyst who splits his time between Los Angeles and Tokyo. He is the founder and CEO of Global Connects Media, a global entertainment and retail consultancy.