The Japanese government is signaling an end to the Cool Japan Fund, a public-private investment vehicle designed to promote domestic pop culture—including anime, manga, and fashion—on the global stage. According to reports from the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has opted to exclude the fund from its 2027 fiscal year budget request, effectively signaling its dissolution.
Launched in 2013 as a cornerstone of the late Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s economic strategy, the fund was intended to leverage Japan’s soft power for commercial gain. However, the initiative struggled with consistent underperformance. By the time of this decision, the fund had accrued roughly 54 billion yen in losses. While the initiative did provide emergency support to businesses during the 2020 pandemic, its track record of commercial investments remained largely stagnant.
The fund’s portfolio featured several high-profile ventures within the anime industry, including a $30 million investment into Sentai Holdings in 2019 and early backing for the now-defunct streaming platform Daisuki. It also financed educational expansions for Kadokawa Contents Academy. Despite these efforts, the Ministry of Finance had already begun questioning the fund's viability as early as 2022, setting a deadline for profitability that the organization failed to meet.
With no new budget allocation for the upcoming fiscal year, the fund will be unable to initiate new investments. This shift marks a definitive change in how the Japanese government approaches the international marketing of its cultural exports, moving away from direct public-private investment toward more sustainable, market-driven strategies.
