Japan | Creative Industries Internationalization Committee | interim report published

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan has released an interim report compiled by the Creative Industries Internationalization Committee. From the viewpoints of expanding Japan's attractiveness in overseas countries as business, this report includes not only possible challenges that the creative industries, such as the contents, fashion, and regional products industries, may face in developing their businesses overseas but also specific measures to overcome such challenges.

Background

In Japan, there are so called "creative industries" that bolster Japan's various lifestyles and cultures, including contents, fashion, food cultures, and omotenashi (hospitable) customer services. In its long history, Japan has accepted various cultures from the East and the West, and it has redefined them and created new unique ones taking advantage of its characteristics as an island nation. This experience has led to creating a variety of fascinating creative industries that Japan presents to the world with pride.

Although there is no specific definition of "creative industries" in Japan, the total amount of domestic production output in related industries is 64.4 trillion yen, and the scale of employment in the industries is estimated to be about as many as 5.9 million people. At the same time, the global market of creative industries is expected to rapidly expand, mainly in emerging countries in Asia and other regions in the future, and the market scale is estimated to increase from the current 463 trillion yen to more than 900 trillion yen in 2020.

However, some challenges, such as issues of piracy and lack of distribution hubs or bases overseas, are limiting the current global output of Japanese enterprises to about 2.3 trillion yen, which indicates that currently Japan does not completely take in overseas demand, contrary to its expectations.

Outline of report

The interim report is a compilation of policies to be implemented in the future, based on the results of studying Japan's current situation and the challenges that it may face in expanding creative industries in overseas countries, aiming to further develop the creative industries that are expected to lead the Japanese economy in the future.

Interim Report

Image: VIVA Japan cafe in Singapore | from the Cool Japan Daily