Japan Film Incentive Faces Overhaul as Government Plans New Agency

Alex Boden, the London-based producer behind HBO Max’s “Tokyo Vice,” and Deb Richards, Netflix’s production policy director, called for structural changes to Japan’s international production incentive on Tuesday. They made the case at the Motion Picture Association’s annual seminar, which took place during the Tokyo International Film Festival. The discussion occurred as the Japanese government prepares to consolidate its fragmented content support systems into a new, unified entity.

Boden traced the evolution of the incentive from a 2020 research program to the current IP360 scheme, which provides a 50% rebate on Japanese spending. He criticized the recent decision to raise the minimum spend threshold to 800 million yen, or approximately $5.1 million. Boden argued that this figure excludes independent films and co-productions, noting that most domestic Japanese films cost between $1.5 million and $3 million to produce.

The producer advocated for an automatic approval system to replace the current panel-based selection process. He described Japan as one of the few territories that uses subjective criteria for incentives, a factor that creates uncertainty for projects that take three to five years to develop. “So how does a producer know that they can count on the Japan incentive in advance? That’s the question, and we need a solution,” Boden said. He cited Martin Scorsese’s “Silence,” “Pachinko,” and “Shōgun” as examples of Japan-set projects that scouted locations locally but filmed abroad.

Richards emphasized the need for transparency in the application process. She stated that applicants often cannot determine why they were rejected unless they analyze the profiles of approved projects. “You can have a lower incentive, that’s fine, as long as it’s certain, as long as the criteria are clear,” Richards said. She added that the current criteria for the Japan incentive are not clear.

Paul Muller, the MPA’s VP of production policy for Asia-Pacific, pointed to Australia as a model for incentive design. In Australia, international productions must spend at least 20 million Australian dollars, or $13.9 million, and allocate 1% of their budget to training. Since this rule took effect in June 2023, more than 20 million Australian dollars have been directed toward training. Muller noted that the average cost of an hour of Australian television has risen from 2 million Australian dollars to between 5 million and 6 million Australian dollars over the past seven or eight years.

On the government side, Hirohiko Nakahara, director-general of the Cabinet Office’s Intellectual Property Strategy Promotion Secretariat, announced that a task force for the new content body held its first meeting on October 22. The Prime Minister directly ordered the creation of this body to break down silos between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, METI, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government aims to launch the new entity in 2027.

The initiative is part of a public-private investment roadmap established in July that targets 20 trillion yen, or $127 billion, in overseas sales by 2033. Content is one of 17 strategic fields in Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s growth strategy. The roadmap includes support for large-scale location shoots, international co-productions based on Japanese IP, and stricter anti-piracy measures. “We hope to become a global hub for film shooting and production,” Nakahara said.

Georgina Pope, head of production at Toho Tombo Pictures, observed that permitting in Tokyo is becoming more flexible. Her team recently closed the road in front of Tokyo City Hall to film a large car scene for “Marty Supreme.” “I’m finding that Japan is really starting to realize the value of having a dynamic international film industry,” Pope said. Boden warned that the current momentum required immediate action, stating that “Everyone seems to be in Japan or visiting Japan tomorrow.”

Former METI minister Akira Amari, who chaired the parliamentary league behind Japan’s basic content law 22 years ago, commented on the new approach. He said previous efforts relied on addition, while the current government strategy uses multiplication. Amari described the 2033 target as a plan to quadruple the industry in ten years. TIFF’s new festival director, Takeo Hisamatsu, noted that Japan was the country of honor at this year’s Cannes Film Market and that 37 Japanese films screened at the recent Busan International Film Festival.