The Japanese public-private fund Cool Japan Fund is said to have invested nearly ¥130 billion to date, while its cumulative deficit has reached ¥54 billion. Its current situation is being reported in contrast to South Korea’s track record of expanding overseas.
South Korea has pursued the export of entertainment as a national policy since the 1990s, and the global success of Korean dramas and K-pop is already widely recognized. Data from UK-based Ampere Analysis shows that Korean dramas are watched on Netflix more than content from any country other than the United States, and Korean dramas also ranked in the global rankings for the first half of 2026.
Cool Japan, Japan’s public-private fund established to support the overseas expansion of anime and manga, has accumulated a deficit of ¥54 billion. Nearly ¥130 billion in public funds has been invested to date, and the fund has been criticized for directing its investments away from content-related businesses.
For example, ¥14 billion was invested in Spiber, but the company was liquidated with approximately ¥36 billion in liabilities and transferred to a company headed by Son Masayoshi (孫 正義)’s eldest daughter. 刀 also invested ¥8 billion, but the business it was involved with ceased operations, while Junglia Okinawa has been reported to be struggling.
¥3.1 billion was invested in Laugh & Peace Mother, but it has been reported to have been effectively unsuccessful because of sluggish growth in paid membership. Many of these investments went to fields other than anime and manga, and the fund has been criticized for having few success stories.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance, overseas sales are approximately ¥6 trillion, said to have increased about 3.8-fold over the past 10 years. Whether Japan’s public support for overseas expansion is producing significant results nevertheless remains a matter of debate.