Japan Must Follow Hollywood’s Distribution Playbook, Says Tokyo Market Chief Shiina Yasushi, Who Eyes Major Expansion by 2030

Japan’s entertainment business has to adopt the model that made Hollywood studios global players if the country wants to reach its content export targets, according to Shiina Yasushi, CEO of TIFFCOM, the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s content market now heading into its 23rd edition.

The Japanese government has set a target of JPY20 trillion ($126.6 billion) in overseas content sales by 2033, and expects anime to bring in JPY6 trillion ($38 billion) of that. Shiina argues that looking abroad won’t be enough without a change in how Japanese companies operate.

“Historically, Japanese companies have often licensed content rights abroad and left local distribution and marketing to their licensees. Going forward, companies should retain ownership of their IP, be actively involved in international distribution, and maximize the revenue generated from their properties,” Shiina tells Variety.

He points out that Hollywood studios reached global scale by setting up their own distribution operations country by country and dealing with each market directly. Japan should take the same route, he says. With that base in place, a property can then be spread across film, games, streaming and merchandise. Shiina sees this as the shift to the “IP-driven industry” the government has called for.

Japanese companies have begun rethinking how they handle IP. TBS is working with Legendary Entertainment, Nippon TV is expanding internationally and publishers are looking at overseas adaptations. Shiina says a fundamental shift is under way. “In the past, the very concept of the long-term value of IP was not widely considered,” he says. Talent agencies have also started paying attention to IP, he adds, because the IP a performer worked on can live on long after they retire.

According to Shiina, the market itself has changed most in who attends. TIFFCOM used to be mainly a place where international sales agents traded finished content. Once producers arrived, it became a more creative market. Streamers now attend next to film and TV companies, and the IP holders on the floor include anime studios, publishers, game companies and toy makers.

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (TGFM) is now big enough to build programs around specific regions and genres, Shiina says. Alongside its Asian focus, it has a collaboration with Italy and, this year, a partnership with Canada’s genre outfit Frontières. When TGFM started, it simply picked projects that met its eligibility rules.

The aim is to make Tokyo a key stop for developing and financing projects, as well as for selling finished ones. “While traditional markets centered on sellers and buyers, our vision is a marketplace where everyone involved in production comes together – from producers, directors, and screenwriters to studios and investors providing capital,” Shiina says.

Taking the Tokyo IP Market to the Cannes Film Market raised TIFFCOM’s profile. Even so, Shiina says the goal isn’t simply to repeat that move at other overseas markets. The priority is still getting international professionals to come to Japan.

“Japan possesses such compelling IP that creators and producers around the world want to collaborate with us. By coming to Japan, international partners can engage in direct, face-to-face dialogue with creators – including original authors, directors, and screenwriters,” he says.

At Cannes, Japan was Country of Honor. Its delegation included sales executives, directors, producers, studios and senior company leaders. Because the program featured anime studios and IP as well as live-action, publishers went too. For Shiina, the biggest result was a change in attitude. Japanese executives who used to see festival markets only as places to buy and sell finished films found out they could take part themselves.

He wants to keep that from being a one-time event. “If Cannes was the first step, this edition of Tokyo represents the second step, and we are still just at the beginning. By sustaining this virtuous cycle, we aim to build a lasting, sustainable business,” Shiina says.

TIFFCOM’s technology keynote this year features AGBO executives speaking about AI and storytelling. Shiina won’t predict which part of the business AI will change first. He is sure, though, that it will reshape production by lowering costs and shortening turnaround. Rights are his main worry, and he says the whole industry needs to work on frameworks for them.

“The critical priority is how to protect creators. This year’s keynote features AGBO – a studio founded by film directors – speaking on how to leverage AI and technology in a creator-led manner, which I believe is precisely the topic the industry wants to hear right now,” he says.

Shiina doesn’t think Japan can settle the AI question alone. Both the technology and the rights involved cross borders, and he says opting out of AI is no longer realistic.

On anime’s long-running problems with costs, working conditions and creators’ share of profits, Shiina says things are getting better, though slowly. He cites work-style reforms, a new law protecting freelancers, and joint government and industry efforts on working conditions. Studios are also starting to keep their IP and build their own businesses instead of working only as subcontractors, and live-action producers are doing the same. “I believe anime is leading the way worldwide, with live-action following in its footsteps,” he says.

Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market and Hong Kong FilMart are also chasing international growth. Shiina says a market should be judged on quality, not numbers. “When industry professionals plan their annual calendars, Tokyo remains an unmissable destination because it allows them to connect directly with Japanese rights holders and creators,” he says. Getting more Japanese companies to take part is the key, he adds, because international attendance follows Japanese participation.

Looking ahead, Shiina wants to expand TIFFCOM’s capacity across its whole operation, not just its floor space. “By around 2030, including venue expansion, we envision growing TIFFCOM into a significantly expanded marketplace,” he says.