Major Japanese portal Bunshun Online recently interviewed Hideto Fujino, fund manager, author, media personality and CEO of investment company Rheos Capital Works, on possible investment strategies for 2026. Aside from defense and AI-related investment, the CEO emphasized that Japanese anime and IPs have the strongest growth potential, especially in the overseas market.
In the interview, Fujino looked back on his recent trip to Brazil and Argentina, commenting on the enthusiasm he felt among overseas fans of Japanese pop culture. “They know every single detail about Dragon Ball, Naruto and Jujutsu Kaisen. They crave for Japanese anime,” he said. Fujino emphasized that this is still an untapped market for Japan, and that domestic entertainment and IPs still have a lot of growth potential globally.
With major anime studios like MAPPA forming partnerships with global streaming services like Netflix, and foreign investors acquiring significant stakes in domestic game companies, it seems like overseas businesses are actively eyeing the Japanese content industry in recent years. And according to Fujino, more foreign investments and acquisitions could be a good thing. “If an IP itself is kept exclusive only to Japan, we won’t have the means to sell it globally. We need to join forces with people who are willing to leverage our IPs and do business with them overseas,” he commented, arguing that Japan’s content industry should actively accept these foreign investments in order to kick it off in the global market.
Furthermore, the CEO argued that Japan needs to undergo “a shift in mindset” and embrace not just foreign capital, but also foreign talent, which could elevate its potential to sell its content overseas.
Fujino also emphasized that the strength of content like anime lies precisely in its Japanese roots, and that, Japan has the potential to create a multi-trillion-yen business by competing in the field and utilizing its strength. “Just as the Silicon Valley tradition exists thanks to American people, anime content is possible because of its Japanese cultural background and foundation,” he explained.
On the other hand, it’s important to note that, while this may sound like a lucrative opportunity from a business standpoint, international anime and manga fans are (though for a good reason) a bit wary of foreign investments, especially the more aggressive kind. For example, a Hong-Kong based international activist investor recently acquired a significant number of shares in manga and game publisher Kadokawa, leading to concern among fans of the company’s IPs. The investor is known for making some “controversial” proposals, infamously urging Nintendo to “immediately enter the mobile market” in 2014.
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