Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Pledges Support For Japanese Film At Tokyo Fest Opening

It was pouring with rain at the opening of this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, but as Japanese actor and festival navigator Kento Nakajima pointed out, rain symbolizes prosperity, and the local film industry can certainly expect plenty of that in the coming year.

Addressing the opening ceremony in a video message, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated the government’s pledge to boost exports of Japanese content to $127BN (JPY20TR) by 2033 as part of its IP360 initiative.

“Under the Takaichi Cabinet, the content sector – including film – has been designated as one of the 17 Strategic Sectors within our Japan Growth Strategy. Guided by our Public-Private Investment Roadmap, we are accelerating domestic investment through close collaboration between the public and private sectors,” Takaichi said.

“To achieve our goal of expanding overseas revenue from Japanese content to 20 trillion yen by 2033, we are committed to providing large-scale, long-term, and strategic support. This includes backing the production of Japanese films capable of moving audiences worldwide, as well as actively attracting international film productions to shoot on location in Japan.”

Speaking on stage at the ceremony, cabinet minister Ryosei Akazawa, whose portfolio includes the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), mentioned government spend of around $350M (JPY55BN) in the current fiscal year to support the industry.

He also namechecked the latest installment in the blockbuster live-action Kingdom franchise, Kingdom 5: The Clash Of Souls, which was released in Japan in July and has grossed more than JPY6BN ($38M) to date.

“This is the fifth film in the franchise to gross more than JPY5BN at the box office and in total the franchise has made more than JPY30BN ($200M),” Akazawa said. He also cited the upcoming Godzilla Minus Zero, which is playing at Tokyo film festival’s Centrepiece film, as an example of Japanese content that is helping to boost exports

“Japan’s content industry has grown to reach 6.1 trillion yen [$39BN] in overseas sales, establishing itself as a vital pillar of our economy.”

Following the politicians’ speeches, the opening ceremony introduced all the main sections and juries of this year’s Tokyo film festival line-up. Many stars had braved the torrential rain, caused by a typhoon lurking offshore in the Pacfic, to walk the red carpet, including Nakajima, Takumi Kitamura, Tadanobu Asano, Mei Nagano and the team behind the opening film Sukiyaki – director Zeze Takahisa and stars Okada Junichi, Tori Matsuzaka, Nana Seino,

Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer is heading this year’s main competition jury, which also includes Korean producer Oh Jungwan, French colorist Yov Moor and Japanese actress Makiko Watanabe (New York-based producer Alex Lo was named as a jury member but couldn’t make it).

De Heer said: “Whether it’s as an actor, colorist, producer or director, we on this jury are all filmmakers – and as filmmakers we have directly or indirectly been influenced by the great Japanese masters. For me, I remember an Ozu film more than 50 years ago, and can still remember one shot that was so perfect. So we as jury are very priviledged to be able to work in the country of those masters.”

Takahisa Zeze said of his opening film: “This film is set during the time right after the war in Japan, a time of extraordinary economic growth, and we’ve tried to capture that period. The characters in the film are all thinking and acting on what they could do to achieve peace. We hope this festival also serves as festival for peace.”