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As global audiences increasingly embrace Japanese entertainment — from manga and anime to premium television drama — international demand for Japanese stories and intellectual property continues to grow. The rising success of Japanese IP adaptations and cross-border productions is creating new opportunities for international collaboration across the global television industry.

Reflecting this momentum, a special industry session titled "Coming Next from Japan" will be held at Series Mania 2026, Europe’s leading event dedicated to television series. The session will take place on March 24, 2026 (14:00–15:00) at the Series Mania Forum in Lille, France.

The session will spotlight four recent international co-production projects led by Japanese and overseas production companies and broadcasters. Through a panel discussion, Japanese and European partners will explore how co-productions are being developed for global audiences—along with opportunities, challenges and future possibilities for collaboration. The session will be moderated by Janine Stein, Editorial Director of ContentAsia. The event is organized by the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ) and Empire of Arkadia (EOA) and sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC).

“International collaboration is opening a new chapter for Japanese drama,” said Makito Sugiyama, Executive Director of BEAJ. “By working with global producers and distributors, Japanese creators can combine distinctive storytelling with international production expertise and distribution networks, enabling Japanese stories to reach wider audiences around the world.”

Featured Projects and Speakers

• "BLOOD & SWEAT" (Japan–Finland Co-Production): Produced by WOWOW, AX-ON, and ICS Nordic. International sales by Boat Rocker Studios and broadcast in Japan on WOWOW, and in Finland by Nelonen Media. Speakers: Tomomi Takashima (Chief Producer, WOWOW) and Daniel Toivonen (Producer/Director, AX-ON).
• "Lost & Found" (Singapore-Japan Co-Production): Produced by Empire of Arkadia, Mocha Chai Laboratories (Singapore), NHK, and TV Man Union (Japan). Broadcast in Japan on NHK and in Singapore on Mediacorp. Speakers: Fotini Paraskakis (Producer/Distributor, Empire of Arkadia) and Tomoko Matsuda (Producer, NHK). Supported by IMDA (Singapore).
• "How to Be a Sensei" (Japan–UK Co-Production): Produced by Nippon TV and Anyway Content (UK). Speakers: Yoko Takashima (Producer, Nippon TV) and Cassie Smyth (Producer, Anyway Content).
• "Drops of God" (France-Japan-US Co-Production): Produced by Les Productions Dynamic, Adline Entertainment, 22H22, Hulu Japan and Legendary. Streaming globally on Apple TV+ and in Japan on Hulu Japan and later on FTV. Speaker: Klaus Zimmermann (Producer, Dynamic Television).

Shigeko Cindy Chino, Producer and Co-Founder of Empire of Arkadia, also emphasized the growing interest from international partners: “We are seeing strong demand from producers who want to collaborate with Japanese creators. Stories rooted in Japanese culture have enormous global potential, and international co-productions allow us to bring those stories to audiences worldwide.”