Producers urge changes to Japan's production incentive at MPA Tokyo seminar

Mixed · 2"Tokyo Vice" producer Alex Boden and Netflix's Debra (Deb) Richards urged changes to Japan's international production incentive at the Motion Picture Association's seminar at the Tokyo International Film Festival, which Deadline reports opened the previous night and runs until November 4. 1 2 Mixed · 2The scheme, IP360, is run by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and offers 50% against Japanese spend; it is part of a programme that targets JPY20 trillion ($127 billion) in content exports by 2033. 1 2 Mixed · 2Boden said the minimum spend, now JPY800 million (about $5 million), excludes independent and lower-budget films and co-productions, since most Japanese films cost about $1.5 million to $3 million. 1 2

Mixed · 2He also called for automatic approval in place of the current panel-based selection, and Deadline adds that he asked for a simpler approval process and for ways to give more producers big-budget experience. 2 1 Mixed · 2Boden cited "Shōgun" and "Pachinko" (and, per Variety, Martin Scorsese's "Silence") as Japan-set projects that scouted in the country but shot elsewhere, and Variety reports he argued for building training into the incentive, citing the U.K.'s 0.5% ScreenSkills levy. 1 2 Mixed · 2Richards said an incentive can be lower "as long as it's certain" and the criteria are clear, and called Japan's process opaque because applicants can only infer why they were turned down by looking at who was approved. 1 2

Centre · 1Deadline also reports Richards saying incentives should not set local and international productions against each other, noting that hubs such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain and the UK support both under one umbrella. 2 Mixed · 2Paul Muller, the MPA's vice president of production policy for Asia-Pacific, pointed to Australia and Thailand as examples of consistent schemes, and welcomed METI's move from single-year to two-year financing while saying more steps were needed. 2 1 Left · 1Variety reports Muller said Australia requires a minimum spend of AUD20 million and 1% of budget for training, and that if the government delivered the discussed changes, the JPY20 trillion goal was "well within scope and well achievable". 1

Mixed · 2Georgina Pope of Toho Tombo Pictures said that permitting in Tokyo, though still difficult, is changing, and that working on international projects builds local crew's skills and confidence. 1 2 Left · 1Variety reports that Nakahara Hirohiko of the Cabinet Office's Intellectual Property Strategy Promotion Secretariat said a task force on a new body to unify ministries' content policy held its first meeting on Oct. 22, with a launch targeted for 2027; he said Japan hopes to become "a global hub for film shooting and production". 1 Left · 1Former METI minister Amari Akira said Japan's earlier content policy lagged behind Korea's, and that the current government is aiming to quadruple the industry in 10 years. 1