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Japan to use development aid to help Vietnam, others fight manga, anime piracy

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Japan plans to use official development assistance (ODA) to help about 10 developing countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, combat piracy of its manga, anime, and games.
  • The Foreign Ministry aims to support copyright laws and training, estimating total losses from piracy at 10.4 trillion yen (S$83 billion) last year.
  • Assistance will include dispatching legal experts, running awareness campaigns, and offering training in Japan, with full-scale aid expected from fiscal year 2027.

Japan is set to leverage its official development assistance (ODA) to combat the escalating piracy of its popular cultural exports, including manga, anime, and video games. The initiative will target approximately 10 developing nations, with Vietnam and Indonesia identified as key recipients.

The Foreign Ministry aims to support copyright laws and training to prevent the distribution of fake products, with government data estimating 10.4 trillion yen (S$83 billion) in total losses last year from the illegal uploading of manga and anime and online sales of counterfeit character goods.

— Japanese government officialExplaining the goals and estimated financial impact of piracy that Japan aims to address.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry intends to bolster copyright laws and provide essential training to prevent the distribution of counterfeit products. Government data indicates that the illegal uploading of manga and anime, along with the online sale of pirated character goods, resulted in an estimated 10.4 trillion yen (approximately S$83 billion) in losses last year. The ministry plans to sequentially select target countries from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, in addition to Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is the main executing agency for handling ODA, is set to start assessing local needs in August, with full-scale assistance expected from fiscal 2027 starting next April.

— Japanese government officialDetailing the timeline and agency responsible for implementing the ODA assistance program.

Assistance will encompass a multi-faceted approach, including the dispatch of legal experts to recipient countries, the implementation of public awareness campaigns, and invitations for employees of local companies to undergo copyright training in Japan. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the primary executing body for ODA, is scheduled to begin assessing local needs in August. Full-scale assistance is anticipated to commence from fiscal year 2027, which begins next April.

It will also help protect rights when developing countries create (their own) popular content.

— A senior Foreign Ministry officialHighlighting a secondary benefit of the program: supporting intellectual property development in recipient nations.

This initiative also aims to protect the intellectual property rights of developing countries as they create their own popular content. Japan has set an ambitious goal to increase overseas sales of its content industry to 20 trillion yen by 2033. To support this, the government is considering doubling its annual aid for the content industry from the current 55 billion yen to approximately 100 billion yen. This plan is expected to be reflected in budgetary requests for fiscal year 2027. Vietnam, specifically, has already confirmed the existence of numerous pirated manga websites.

Vietnam has confirmed the existence of multiple pirated manga sites.

— Government officialProviding a specific example of piracy issues in one of the target countries.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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