Japan IP Market Returns to Cannes in May 2027

The Japan IP Market will return to Cannes on May 14-15, 2027, for its second edition. The Cannes Film Market and TIFFCOM, the content market of the Tokyo International Film Festival, announced the continuation of their partnership at TIFFCOM in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The announcement came during a conference on how Japan can forge new international partnerships following its stint as Country of Honor in Cannes. Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of industry programs at the Cannes Film Market, sat on the panel.

Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of the Cannes Film Market, framed the second edition as proof that a focused national presence can outlive a single showcase. "The success of Japan, Country of Honor showed what can happen when a focused national presence creates lasting opportunities for the industry. The Japan IP Market is one of those outcomes: a collaboration that extends beyond a single edition and gives Japanese intellectual properties greater access to international partners," Esmiol said.

He added: "I'm delighted that we are continuing this work with TIFFCOM to create more opportunities for rights holders to connect with international producers and partners, develop new adaptations and bring their stories to global audiences."

What did the first edition achieve?

The Japan IP Market first ran in May 2026 as one of the initiatives tied to Japan's turn as Country of Honor at the Cannes Film Market. The format was simple: put Japanese rights holders in the same room as international industry professionals through pitches, one-on-one meetings and industry discussions.

Kadokawa, Shochiku and Toei Company were among the participating companies. The speaker lineup included Fujimura Tetsu, executive producer of "One Piece" and founder and CEO of Filosophia, Inc.

Zakharchenko described the market's core function in business terms. "The Japan IP Market is about creating the right conditions for business opportunities between Japanese rights holders and international companies," she said. "By bringing them together in Cannes, we can help turn growing interest in Japanese content into concrete adaptation deals and acquisitions, while fostering new collaboration opportunities."

That word "concrete" is doing the heavy lifting. Interest in Japanese content is not in short supply; deal infrastructure is the scarcer commodity.

Why does Cannes matter for Japanese IP?

Shiina Yasushi, executive adviser at UNIJAPAN and CEO of TIFFCOM, called the partnership with the Cannes market an important asset for Japan's audiovisual industry. He described the Cannes market as the biggest market attached to any film festival in the world.

"Meeting the international professionals who gather there and creating together with them is the key to nurturing Japanese IP into global content," Shiina said.

Ikeda Kaori, managing director of TIFFCOM, said the first edition demonstrated how keen producers and partners worldwide are on Japanese IP. "Through the continued partnership linking Cannes in May with the Tokyo IP Market in October, we are pleased to offer more professionals the opportunity to meet Japanese rights holders directly and discover the rich diversity of Japanese IP," she said.

The two-market structure gives rights holders two shots a year at the same audience: Cannes in spring, Tokyo in autumn. For an industry built on long adaptation timelines, that's a reasonable hedge.

What happens next?

The 2027 roster of companies and the rest of the program will be unveiled in the months ahead. The dates are set; the lineup is not.

The stakes are straightforward. Japan's content industry has spent years exporting anime, manga and game properties that Hollywood and European producers adapt at scale, and the Country of Honor program in Cannes concentrated that demand in one place. Whether the Japan IP Market converts that demand into adaptation deals and acquisitions — Zakharchenko's stated benchmark — will determine if the annual Cannes-Tokyo circuit becomes permanent infrastructure or a well-attended trade mission.