Shiina Yasushi charts Japan’s JPY20tn overseas content push

By Marcus Bennett

Japan’s government targets JPY20 trillion ($126.6 billion) in overseas content sales by 2033 and expects anime to generate JPY6 trillion ($38 billion) of that total.

As TIFFCOM, the Tokyo International Film Festival’s content market, enters its 23rd edition, its CEO Shiina Yasushi told Variety that reaching the targets requires Japan to adopt the distribution model that made Hollywood studios global players.

“Historically, Japanese companies have often licensed content rights abroad and left local distribution and marketing to their licensees. Going forward, companies should retain ownership of their IP, be actively involved in international distribution, and maximize the revenue generated from their properties,” Shiina told Variety.

Shiina said Hollywood studios reached global scale by establishing their own distribution operations country by country and dealing directly with each market. With that base in place, he said, a Japanese company could extend a property across film, games, streaming and merchandise while retaining control of its rights and international distribution.

He described the approach as the shift to the “IP-driven industry” the government has called for.

What must change for Japan to reach its export targets?

Japanese companies have begun rethinking how they manage IP. Shiina cited TBS working with Legendary Entertainment, Nippon TV expanding internationally, and publishers looking at overseas adaptations. He called the change fundamental.

“In the past, the very concept of the long-term value of IP was not widely considered,” he said.

He added that talent agencies now pay attention to performer IP because the IP associated with a performer’s work can remain valuable long after the performer retires.

A market built around development

Shiina said TIFFCOM’s biggest change concerns who attends. The market once centered on international sales agents trading finished content. Once producers arrived, it became a more creative market. Streamers now attend alongside film and TV companies. IP holders on the floor include anime studios, publishers, game companies and toy makers.

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) now has enough scale to build programs around specific regions and genres, Shiina said. It retains an Asian focus and collaborates with Italy. This year, it added a partnership with Canada’s genre outfit Frontières. When TGFM began, it simply selected projects that met its eligibility rules.

Shiina said Tokyo should become a key stop for project development and financing, as well as finished-content sales.

“While traditional markets centered on sellers and buyers, our vision is a marketplace where everyone involved in production comes together – from producers, directors, and screenwriters to studios and investors providing capital,” he said.

Cannes and the shift in participation

Taking the Tokyo IP Market to the Cannes Film Market raised TIFFCOM’s profile, Shiina said. He said the aim is not simply to repeat that move at other overseas markets. The priority remains attracting international professionals to Japan.

“Japan possesses such compelling IP that creators and producers around the world want to collaborate with us. By coming to Japan, international partners can engage in direct, face-to-face dialogue with creators – including original authors, directors, and screenwriters,” he said.

Cannes designated Japan as Country of Honor, and Shiina said its delegation included sales executives, directors, producers, studios and senior company leaders. He said the program featured anime studios and IP alongside live action, which brought publishers into the delegation.

He identified the biggest result as an attitude change. Japanese executives once viewed festival markets only as places to buy and sell finished films. They learned they could participate directly.

“If Cannes was the first step, this edition of Tokyo represents the second step, and we are still just at the beginning. By sustaining this virtuous cycle, we aim to build a lasting, sustainable business,” he said.

AI and creator protection

Shiina declined to predict which part of the business AI would change first, but he said AI will reshape production by lowering costs and shortening turnaround.

Rights remain his main concern, and he said the industry needs frameworks to address them. His proposal links revenue growth to control of rights, but he treats creator protection as a condition for new technology.

This year’s TIFFCOM technology keynote features AGBO executives speaking about AI and storytelling.

“The critical priority is how to protect creators. This year’s keynote features AGBO – a studio founded by film directors – speaking on how to leverage AI and technology in a creator-led manner, which I believe is precisely the topic the industry wants to hear right now,” he said.

Shiina said Japan cannot settle the AI question alone. Technology and rights cross borders, he said, and opting out of AI is no longer realistic.

The competition and the 2030 horizon

Shiina said anime is making slow progress on costs, working conditions and creators’ share of profits. He cited work-style reforms, a new law protecting freelancers, and joint government and industry efforts on working conditions.

Studios are starting to keep their IP and build their own businesses instead of working only as subcontractors, he said. He said live-action producers are doing the same.

“I believe anime is leading the way worldwide, with live-action following in its footsteps,” he said.

Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market and Hong Kong FilMart are also chasing international growth, Shiina said. He said a market should be judged on quality, not numbers.

“When industry professionals plan their annual calendars, Tokyo remains an unmissable destination because it allows them to connect directly with Japanese rights holders and creators,” he said.

He added that getting more Japanese companies involved is the key, because international attendance follows Japanese participation. Shiina wants to expand TIFFCOM’s capacity across the whole operation, not just its floor space.

“By around 2030, including venue expansion, we envision growing TIFFCOM into a significantly expanded marketplace,” he said.