Organised by BEAJ (Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan) and Empire of Arkadia (EOA), with the support of Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the showcase highlighted both the strength of the domestic Japanese industry and the growing opportunities for global collaboration.
The session opened with a strong economic framing. Japan’s streaming sector is currently valued at approximately $7.2 billion, with a projected 15% year-on-year growth in 2025—a signal of sustained expansion rather than a temporary surge. This growth sits alongside a robust $25.8 billion broadcasting market, one of the most stable domestic ecosystems globally.
Japanese audiences remain highly engaged and platform-agnostic, consuming content across linear and digital environments. The key challenge—and opportunity—now lies in translating this domestic strength into scalable international reach.
As highlighted during the session, the central question is no longer whether Japanese stories can travel globally, but how to build the creative, commercial and regulatory frameworks necessary to support that expansion at scale.
From Adaptation to True Co-Production
Recent projects demonstrate a clear evolution in the nature of international collaboration. Titles such as Miss Sherlock (2018), The Head (2020), and Tokyo Vice (2022) illustrate a trajectory from local adaptation to fully integrated co-production models.
What connects these projects is not only their commercial success, but the depth of creative partnership involved. They represent a shift away from simple licensing agreements toward genuine co-development processes, where multiple territories contribute editorially from the outset.
Four Projects, Four Models of Collaboration
The session presented four upcoming series—Drops of God, Lost & Found, How to Be a Sensei (in development), and Blood & Sweat—each reflecting different approaches to international storytelling.
One of the most prominent examples remains Drops of God, adapted from the successful Japanese manga, is produced by Les Productions Dynamic. The project illustrates how cultural translation can become a creative asset.
Originally set entirely in Japan, the series was reimagined for an international audience by splitting its central characters between Japan and Europe. This structural choice enabled the narrative to explore the mutual fascination between the two cultures—particularly through the lens of wine, a symbol deeply rooted in European tradition but interpreted through a Japanese storytelling sensibility.
The result is a series that is not simply “adapted,” but re-authored through cross-cultural dialogue, supported by a multinational cast and creative team.
Lost & Found, produced by Empire of Arkadia, Mocha Chai Laboratories, TV Man Unioni; NHK tells the story of a young gamer played by Shawn Thia who travels to Japan to search his online girlfriend only to discover that she has mysteriosly vanished.
Blood & Sweat is a thriller in coproduction with Finland and Japan produced by Wowow and Nelonen Media. Set in Tokyo, detective Aki Suzumiya is investigating a mysterious homicide, but he discovers soon disturbing similarities to recend murder in Tampere, Finland.
How to be a Sensei is a British and Japanese coproduction produced by Nippon TV and Anyway Content.
