The Cool Japan Fund, a Japanese government initiative to promote Japanese content and support overseas sales, is reportedly being dissolved after heavy financial losses totaling $340 million, according to multiple Japanese media reports.
The country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is reportedly preparing its fiscal 2027 budget request without any allocation for the fund, a move that would leave the organization unable to make new investments going forward. While no formal shutdown order has been issued, officials have concluded that continued public funding would be difficult to justify given the fund’s financial track record.
In response to these reports, an official statement from the Cool Japan Fund said that discussions regarding its future direction are being conducted by the METI-formed Review Committee on the Cool Japan Fund, and that the fund’s closure has not been decided on at the moment.
The Cool Japan Fund was founded by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013 to help anime, manga, and other Japanese cultural exports find bigger audiences abroad. The initiative was founded under the premise of the “Cool Japan” strategy, an effort to convert Japan’s cultural soft power, spanning anime, manga, film, fashion, food, and traditional crafts, into commercial success overseas. Since its founding, the fund has drawn capital from both the government and private shareholders to back a wide range of ventures tied to that goal.
One of the initiative’s first funding rounds was with KADOKAWA in 2015, amounting to 450 million yen (about US$3.7 million), to support the publisher’s goals of developing content creators for anime and manga outside Japan. Regarding the investment, the Cool Japan Fund previously stated that the Kadokawa Contents Academy Co. (KCA) aimed to broaden its footprint into 12 additional markets, with an emphasis on Asia alongside expansion into Europe and Australia. However, the Cool Japan Fund sold its shares in KCA to Jikei, a publishing distributor, in 2024.
The Cool Japan Fund also invested a total of 5.15 billion yen (around $32.1 million) in launching the Japan Contents Factory Investment Business Limited Liability Partnership, aimed at supporting the creation of Japanese visual content targeting international distribution. The fund was eventually dissolved in December 2024, months after Makoto Kimura, a former MAPPA producer and the founder of planning and production company BLUE RIGHTS, said at a Cool Japan Fund workshop that he believed the need for the JCF fund and other forms of bridge financing will increase in the future.” Its managing company, Japan Contents Factory Inc. (JCF) closed down in March 2025.
Another company that benefited from the Cool Japan Fund was Sentai Holdings in 2019, receiving $30 million in exchange for the sale of shares of the company. An additional $3.8 million was invested in the anime licensing company in 2020, citing improved financial records despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Sentai Holdings is the parent company of Sentai Filmworks, which specializes in dubbing and distribution of anime and other Asian entertainment in the US market.
In the VTuber scene, Cool Japan Fund was one of the 16 investors in Japanese holding company Brave group during its series E financing round in April 2026. The company, known for its VTuber companies such as Vspo!, RIOT MUSIC, Neo-Porte, and V4Mirai, received over 8 billion yen (around $50 million) during the funding to accelerate global expansion and diversify its IP business, specifically around increasing overseas revenue from VTuber music concerts, events, and merchandise sales.
Other investments undertaken by the Cool Japan Fund related to the industry include Anime Consortium Japan, Inc., a joint venture between ADK, BANDAI NAMCO, and Aniplex; media and e-commerce business Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc.; and media localization service SDI Media Group Inc. through an agreement with Imagica Robot Holdings (IRHD) and Sumitomo Corporation.
Despite the project purportedly ending, METI is reportedly looking to push new grants aimed specifically at helping Japanese content, including anime and manga, reach international markets through the IP360 subsidy program. Several anime-related entities, including TRIGGER and Aniplex, have received support from the program, which aims to substantially grow the overseas market for Japanese content by 2033.
Sources: The Japan Times, Mainichi
