Japan scraps 'Cool Japan' project after $345 million deficit

Japan is set to abolish its "Cool Japan" initiative, a public-private fund established with the goal of promoting the appeal of Japanese culture worldwide.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the closure of the "Cool Japan Fund" (Overseas Demand Development Support Organization), with no plans to include the project in the next fiscal year's budget. This move follows significant accumulated deficits and a lack of tangible business results.

By last year, the project's cumulative deficit had ballooned to 54 billion yen (approximately $345 million USD). The decision to halt funding is attributed to the project's poor performance and mounting losses. Reports suggest that the policy's initial design was fundamentally flawed, with inherent conflicts between policy objectives and profitability.

An official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was quoted as saying, "From the beginning, policy outcomes and profitability were at odds. Businesses with potential for profit were already in private hands, making monetization difficult from the outset." The potential for unrecovered investments raises concerns about future accountability for this policy failure.