Japan plans to use its official development assistance to help about 10 developing countries including Vietnam and Indonesia curb the rising piracy of Japanese manga, anime and games, a Japanese government official said on July 5.
The Foreign Ministry aims to support copyright laws and training to prevent the distribution of fake products, with government data estimating 10.4 trillion yen (S$83 billion) in total losses last year from the illegal uploading of manga and anime and online sales of counterfeit character goods.
The Foreign Ministry plans to select sequentially target countries from South-east Asia, the Middle East and Africa, in addition to Vietnam and Indonesia, and plans to dispatch legal experts, run awareness campaigns and invite employees of local companies to Japan for copyright training, the official said.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the main executing agency for handling ODA, is set to start assessing local needs in August, with full-scale assistance expected from fiscal 2027 starting next April.
“It will also help protect rights when developing countries create (their own) popular content,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
The government has set a goal of raising overseas sales by Japan’s content industry to 20 trillion yen by 2033 and is considering doubling its annual support for the content industry to about 100 billion yen from about 55 billion yen currently.
The plan is to have this reflected in its budgetary requests for fiscal 2027 to be compiled this summer.
According to the government official, Vietnam has confirmed the existence of multiple pirated manga sites.
-Kyodo News
The Foreign Ministry aims to support copyright laws and training to prevent the distribution of fake products, with government data estimating 10.4 trillion yen (S$83 billion) in total losses last year from the illegal uploading of manga and anime and online sales of counterfeit character goods.
The Foreign Ministry plans to select sequentially target countries from South-east Asia, the Middle East and Africa, in addition to Vietnam and Indonesia, and plans to dispatch legal experts, run awareness campaigns and invite employees of local companies to Japan for copyright training, the official said.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the main executing agency for handling ODA, is set to start assessing local needs in August, with full-scale assistance expected from fiscal 2027 starting next April.
“It will also help protect rights when developing countries create (their own) popular content,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
The government has set a goal of raising overseas sales by Japan’s content industry to 20 trillion yen by 2033 and is considering doubling its annual support for the content industry to about 100 billion yen from about 55 billion yen currently.
The plan is to have this reflected in its budgetary requests for fiscal 2027 to be compiled this summer.
According to the government official, Vietnam has confirmed the existence of multiple pirated manga sites.
-Kyodo News
