With content like anime and video games becoming an increasingly important driver of Japan’s economy, the government has in recent years been expanding its support initiatives for the entertainment industry. This includes monetary subsidies aimed at improving working conditions and helping companies localize and publish their content overseas (and more recently, even grants aimed at indie developers). However, it’s been revealed that the frontline staff who actually create anime, manga and games are receiving a shockingly small percentage of the money.
According to MagMix, based on materials published by Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) earlier this year, the domestic entertainment industry received 6.77 billion yen in subsidies (about $42.5 million USD) in 2024.
However, 54.9% of this total went towards the live-action industry, with only 12.6% and 10.7% being allocated to anime and games respectively, suggesting a significant bias. Not only that, but when looking at a breakdown within the anime industry, the subsidies primarily went towards promotion, localization and distribution, with actual creators receiving 0.0%. This means there was barely any government support trickling down directly to anime production staff. In the game industry, the percentage was somewhat higher at 1.4%.
On the flip side, METI does seem aware that this is an issue, and the ministry’s documents indicate that it’s considering introducing direct support for creators. However, as MagMix points out, there is concern about whether government officials have sufficient understanding of how the industry and its front lines work in the first place. With how difficult it can be to even make ends meet, many anime creators have little time and resources to dedicate to applying for grants, which means that large enterprises with higher administrative capabilities get favored in the system.
The Japanese government has set a target of increasing annual overseas revenue related to domestic content to 20 trillion yen (or about $125.5 billion USD) by 2033, and in recent years, anime in particular has been reaching record-breaking revenue figures. However, this has been accompanied by a growing number of anime studio bankruptcies and closures as production companies face a “profitless boom.” In November last year, Teikoku Data Bank said that the anime industry was in “urgent need of measures” to get back on its feet, so a grant system that targets creators more directly seems to be much needed.
