Japan's plan to dominate the world with anime and video games

If you thought anime was already everywhere, get ready, because the government of Japan has just stepped on the gas. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed an ambitious master plan to make its creative market overseas reach the massive figure of 20 trillion yen by the year 2033 (roughly 125 billion dollars). And yes, the spearhead of this massive cultural and financial conquest will be our beloved anime industry.

The master plan to triple anime's success

The specific goal for Japanese animation is to literally triple its current value in the international market. The most recent statistics support this madness: in 2024, earnings generated outside of Japan far exceeded domestic consumption for the third time in history, proving that the Western audience is a true gold mine. To maintain this aggressive growth rate, the government promised to inject state budget into three fundamental areas: financing large-scale productions that become global hits, expanding global distribution platforms and, most importantly to curb workplace toxicity, improving the wage rates of the animators and creatives who make this magic possible.

Video games and manga are not left behind

Of course, the video game industry and manga also have their own roadmap in this mega-project. For games, which plan to quadruple their multi-million dollar revenues, attractive tax incentives for research and development will be offered, along with strong support to dominate the PC and mobile device market. Meanwhile, the strategy for printed and digital comics will focus on an aggressive crackdown on piracy, improving official localization efforts so that chapters reach more languages simultaneously worldwide.

Knowing that Japan is finally seriously looking at the salary conditions of its animators and plans to launch world-class productions supported by the government itself, do you think anime will manage to completely dominate the entertainment industry in the next decade?