Overseas sales of Japanese content increased by over 1 trillion yen in 2023, carried primarily by console games and anime 

Overseas sales of Japanese entertainment grew from 4.68 to 5.77 trillion yen (over $38 billion) in 2023, which is an increase of over 1 trillion yen ($6.6 billion) compared to the previous year). This is according to a report published by Japanese market database Human Media on December 3 (via PR Times). 

While 2022 was already a record-breaking year for the Japanese content industry, which generated a revenue comparable to the country’s steel industry, it seems 2023 brought the largest leap in profits to date. The graph below shows the progressive yearly growth of overseas sales from 2012 to 2023. 

What stands out in this report is that most of the growth is attributed to the success of console games and anime (colored blue and light green respectively on the graph), whereas content such as live-action films, TV programs and even manga “remained flat.” Moreover, sales of mobile and PC games reportedly declined compared to the previous year. 

The report accounts for profit coming from licensing, distribution via overseas subsidiaries, as well as e-commerce from Japan to overseas. Data related to music content is not accounted for. 

On a related note, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has positioned anime and video games at the core of its strategy to quadruple the market value of Japan’s content industry by 2033. To this end, the government is drawing up an action plan to further the development of these industries, which includes things like improving working conditions for creators.