METI Finalizes Plan to Abolish 'Cool Japan Fund'
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has begun preparations to abolish the 'Cool Japan Fund' (officially the Cool Japan Fund Inc.), a public-private fund established to promote Japanese culture and products overseas. The ministry's policy is to refrain from requesting new budget allocations and to proceed with the liquidation of the organization.
The Cool Japan Fund was established with the goal of promoting the appeal of Japanese anime, food culture, and other assets to the world, thereby increasing demand abroad. However, many of the projects it invested in failed to generate profits, leaving the fund with massive cumulative losses over many years.
While the government has previously called for organizational reform and management improvements, these efforts did not lead to the elimination of the deficit. Consequently, it appears that METI has concluded that continuing operations by injecting further tax revenue is no longer feasible, leading to the decision to abolish the organization.
Moving forward, the challenge will be how to manage and conclude the projects that have already received investment. Additionally, the government's future response regarding how it will create a new mechanism to promote Japanese culture overseas is drawing attention.