LDP to Propose Quadrupling Aid for Content Industry

Tokyo, Nov. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party will propose that the government quadruple its aid for the country’s content industry to around 100 billion yen, it was learned Thursday. The LDP’s Research Commission on Intellectual Property Strategy has drafted the emergency proposal to provide multiyear large-scale support, starting with a comprehensive economic package that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to draw up this month. The draft proposal emphasizes the need to swiftly increase Japan’s budget for content industry support to match that of other countries. It focuses on training manga translators and animators, developing cultural communication hubs overseas, and combating piracy. The Japanese content industry’s sales in foreign markets grew about 3.7-fold from 1.6 trillion yen in 2013 to 5.8 trillion yen in 2023, surpassing the value of the country’s semiconductor exports. The content industry is viewed as a growing sector worldwide, and countries like the United States and China provide over 100 billion yen annually in government aid to content producers. Japan currently provides around 25 billion yen in such aid. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]