In 2013, the Japanese government created a fund aimed at spreading anime, cuisine, and Japanese culture worldwide. By 2024, that fund had accumulated a deficit of 383 billion yen. The Cool Japan Fund is now under review by the Japanese government, which, according to reports, is considering it among candidates for restructuring or outright abolition.

The Cool Japan Fund was launched during the administration of Shinzo Abe under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, operating as a public-private fund to support Japanese companies in their international expansion. The goal was to provide venture capital that would attract additional private investment, enabling anime, manga, music, film, and cuisine projects to compete in global markets.

Reality turned out differently. Many of the startups and projects the fund invested in did not succeed, and the accumulated deficit by the end of the 2024 fiscal year reached 383 billion yen, with further losses still expected. Reactions to the possible abolition have been largely critical of the fund’s past performance, with many observers pointing out that substantial public funds did not translate into tangible benefits for creators and industries supposedly meant to be boosted.

A recurring criticism notes that Japan’s most successful cultural exports, including anime and manga in international markets, achieved global reach independently, without direct involvement from the fund. This raises questions about whether the original goal was realistic or if execution was simply poor. Critics have also called for a thorough review of how investments were managed and where the money was spent.

The possible abolition of the Cool Japan Fund opens a broader discussion: if the Japanese government wants to continue supporting the expansion of its creative industry abroad, it will need to find alternative channels that reach content producers more directly.

The Cool Japan Fund, formally known as the Foreign Demand Development Support Organization, was established in 2013 as part of Shinzo Abe’s government’s soft power strategy. Its mandate included investing in projects related to cuisine, fashion, anime, manga, and other forms of Japanese popular culture to facilitate their entry into international markets. It operated with mixed public and private capital under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A decade after its founding, its financial record has made it a case study on the limits and risks of government intervention in creative industries.

Do you think the anime industry needs government fund support to grow overseas, or has the international market already shown it can find Japanese content on its own?