Japanese anime industry sales top 3 trln yen for 1st time

TOKYO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The market size of Japan's anime industry has topped the 3-trillion-yen mark for the first time in 2023, supported by strong overseas sales, local media reported Sunday.

Japan's animation industry generated around 3.3 trillion yen (about 21 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, marking a record high and a 14 percent increase from the previous record marked in 2022, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing a recent report by the Association of Japanese Animations.

Overseas anime revenues surpassed those of the domestic market in 2023, with overseas sales standing at 1.72 trillion yen, up 18 percent from a year earlier, according to the industry report.

Meanwhile, domestic revenues came to 1.62 trillion yen, making up 49.5 percent of the total.

Hiromichi Masuda, chief editor of the report, said the overseas market is rapidly expanding due to the strength of internet distribution, noting Japanese animation remains popular at home, but it is also steadily gaining fans worldwide, giving a further boost to the industry. (1 Japanese yen equals 0.0064 U.S. dollars) ■