For Japan, the content industry is one of the most prosperous for its economy. The sector covers games, animation, manga (publishing), live-action (film\/drama\/factual), and music\/live entertainment. It is part of the entertainment and creative industry.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, the sales value of Japanese content industry abroad is bigger than\u00a0the sales value of the semiconductor industry. According to the paper, \u201cEntertainment and Creative Industries Strategy,\u201d by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), published in June 2025, the export value of Japanese content represented \u00a55.8 billion (US$37.3 billion)\u00a0in 2023 worldwide; meanwhile, the sales value of the Japanese semiconductor industry abroad was \u00a55.5 billion in the same year. The winning\u00a0sector in Japan is the automobile industry, which represented \u00a521.6 billion in sales value abroad in the same year.<\/p>\n
The content industry in Japan is considered a \u201cbasic industry\u201d in the country’s “New Cool Japan” strategy,\u00a0due to its revenue. New Cool Japan is the current policy made public in 2024 that\u00a0suggests certain actions to continue spreading the entertainment\u00a0and creative industries abroad. According to this policy, the content industry is projected to grow to \u00a520 billion in 2033.<\/p>\n
New Cool Japan is the successor policy of Cool Japan. It refers to all Japanese topics that are considered \u201ccool\u201d according to the perspective of other countries.\u00a0Japan wants to promote these,\u00a0considering Japanese values and culture. The Cool Japan strategy covers a variety of topics, such as content, Japanese products, promotion of culture, places, and many more. The construction of Cool Japan policies began in 2010 as an initiative\u00a0by METI and they continue to this day. In 2018, Cool Japan was added to Japan’s intellectual property strategy vision.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2024, METI created a research group related to creative and entertainment industry policies that promote\u00a0mainly the content industry. This group conducts research and shares insights about potential avenues to consider to ensure the content industry’s growth. Among the\u00a0strategies\u00a0implemented to promote content abroad is the promotion of Japanese content on digital platforms, which has created a direct and accessible relationship between the audience and Japanese content.\u00a0The challenge for Japan in spurring greater interest in its content is creating\u00a0awareness abroad that some content, like anime, is not just for children, as is often believed by people in countries like Mexico or Latin America, although in recent years this tendency has been changing and young people, especially those in their 20s-30s, are becoming anime fans.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, new ways of doing business for the content industry are also increasing the number of fans around the world. As we noted previously, Japanese companies can distribute content, such as anime, directly to platforms, instead of to just a few local companies abroad. Positive secondary consequences such as selling merchandising, consumption of Japanese food, and travelers from all over the world who desire to visit the places they see in anime, movies, or manga means more revenue for the Japanese economy.<\/p>\n
Another positive secondary\u00a0consequence\u00a0could be the interest of Japanese companies to establish\u00a0branches abroad. For these companies, it would be useful to understand other cultures and consumer behaviors to ensure control over their own business in other countries.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, there are global challenges that should be resolved to develop a legal global value chain for Japanese content. Looking again at the study published by METI,\u00a0for instance, the international development of generative AI could represent a problem in fields of 2D animation and manga design for Japanese companies that have\u00a0been specializing in that field for many years. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Another challenge is the damage to sales due to piracy. The study mentions that in 2022, the value of Japanese content sales lost to piracy around the world\u00a0(excluding Japan) represents \u00a513 to \u00a520 trillion. In Mexico, according to the \u201cStudy of the Perception of Piracy in Mexico,\u201d\u00a0published in 2024 by Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI), piracy is a common and well-known practice. Movies, TV series, and music are the main counterfeit digital products. Among the reasons Mexicans continue to consume\u00a0illegal products in general are the easy availability of illegal copies and cheap\u00a0price.<\/p>\n
There are many advantages that Mexico can gain from its own Japanese content consumption. Here are some of those and the steps Mexico needs to take:<\/p>\n
Mexico must be aware of the potential of its content consumption and industry to attract Japanese firms to Mexico.
\n\tAlliances between Japanese and Mexican content companies to create a direct sales channel would result in win-win revenue.
\n\tMexico should pay more attention to intellectual property law to combat piracy, making\u00a0the country more attractive for investment.
\n\tEasy legal availability of Japanese content for consumers can counteract pirated channels.
\n\tStrengthen the dubbing industry in\u00a0Mexico to attract the interest of Japanese content companies, especially for anime and movies.<\/p>\n
Without a doubt, internationalization of Japanese content companies will create more business for all the value chain companies involved, with the aim of\u00a0transmitting\u00a0the coolest Japanese content to the world.<\/p>\n
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