Will Japan's IP Industry End as a 'Boom'? How to Nurture IP and the Next Growth Strategy

SHAPE Partners today announced the release of its original report, "Will Japan's IP Industry End with a 'Boom'? How to Nurture IP and What is the Next Growth Strategy."

In recent years, the Japanese IP industry has achieved unprecedented growth, with its popularity expanding not only domestically but also globally. Behind this trend are the normalization of consumers' "oshi-katsu" (supporting their favorite idols or characters), the expansion of "kidult demand" to capture the adult demographic with purchasing power amidst a declining birthrate, and the spread of global distribution platforms such as Netflix.

On the other hand, looking at individual contents, trends change rapidly, and there are many cases where they are consumed in a short period of time. In order to prevent this rapid growth from ending as a temporary boom and to connect it to sustainable monetization, it is necessary to accurately grasp the constantly changing business environment and take new strategies.

This report analyzes the "winning patterns" in the traditional IP business while unraveling the factors of the current "game change," such as the rise of characters originating from SNS and East Asia. It also proposes five key "capabilities" required for future IP holders to achieve sustainable growth.

■ Five Capabilities Required for Future IP Holders

• Discovery capability to read digital enthusiasm: The ability to discover small sparks of enthusiasm generated on platforms like SNS at an early stage and assess their growth potential as IP.

• Worldview expansion and development capability: The ability to gradually deepen the worldview of an IP through video, merchandise, and events, while leaving room for fans' own interpretation.

• Production capability to monetize across multiple outlets: Rather than a one-off development, the ability to connect multiple monetization opportunities from SNS to commercialization, video adaptation, and collaborations, in line with a growth scenario.

• Market analysis capability to read overseas and surrounding markets: The ability to read the market by taking a bird's-eye view of the global competitive environment, including not only North America but also Chinese art toys and Korean IP.

• Operational capability to balance speed with brand control: The ability to quickly seize market opportunities while performing sophisticated license management to ensure the worldview and rarity of the IP are not compromised.

Through this report, SHAPE Partners aims to provide new perspectives to everyone in the entertainment industry and contribute to the further development and strengthening of the global competitiveness of Japan's IP industry.

* The full report (PDF) can be downloaded from here.