In 2013, the Japanese government created a fund
with the mission of bringing the country's anime, cuisine, and culture to the
rest of the world. In 2024, that same fund accumulated a deficit of 383
billion yen. The Cool Japan Fund is now under review by the
Japanese government, which is reportedly considering it among the candidates to
be restructured or abolished altogether.
The Cool Japan Fund was launched during Shinzo
Abe's government under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
operating as a public-private fund with the aim of supporting Japanese
companies in their international expansion. The idea was to provide venture
capital that in turn would attract additional private investment, making it
easier for anime, manga, music, film and gastronomy projects to compete in
global markets.
The reality was different. Many of the startups
and projects in which the fund invested did not prosper, and the accumulated
deficit at the end of fiscal year 2024 reached 383 billion yen,
with additional losses still anticipated. Reactions to the potential abolition
have been predominantly critical of the fund's past performance, with many
observers pointing out that substantial amounts of public money did not
translate into any tangible benefit for creators and the industries they were
supposed to be boosted.
A recurring criticism points out that the most
successful Japanese cultural exports, including anime itself and manga in
international markets, achieved that global reach independently, without direct
participation of the fund. This led to questions about whether the original
goal was realistic or if the execution was simply poor. Critics have also
called for a thorough review of how the investments were managed and where
exactly the money went.
The possible abolition of the Cool Japan Fund
in turn opens up a broader conversation: if the Japanese government wants to
continue supporting the expansion of its creative industry abroad, it will have
to find different channels that reach more directly to those who produce the
content.
The Cool Japan Fund, formally known
as the Overseas 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 gastronomy, fashion, anime,
manga, and other expressions of Japanese popular culture to facilitate its
penetration into international markets. It operated with mixed public and
private capital under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry. More than a decade after its foundation, the financial balance it
leaves behind has turned the fund into a case study on the limits and risks of
government intervention in creative industries
