Japan to Use ODA Against Anime and Manga Piracy in 10 Countries
Japan to Use ODA to Curb Anime, Manga, and Game Piracy
Tokyo will direct development aid to about 10 nations to build copyright enforcement as piracy losses hit over $64B
BYKamalikaa
07 JUL 2026, 02:04 PM
Highlights
- Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will use its ODA program to help around 10 developing nations strengthen copyright enforcement.
- The initiative will provide legal expertise, policy support, and training programs in regions including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
- The move comes as METI estimates Japan’s content industry lost ¥10.4 trillion ($64.1 billion) to piracy and counterfeit goods in 2025.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to use its Official Development Assistance (ODA) program to protect the country’s cultural content, including manga, anime, and gaming, from piracy. The July 5 announcement stated that the ministry will select roughly 10 developing countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, for the initiative
The initiative is designed for a global crackdown push, eventually dispatching to countries across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Previously in May, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raised concerns about piracy websites during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, emphasizing the need for effective action against their operators
According to an official from Japan’s Foreign Ministry, the program will support governments through legal expertise, copyright policy development, and human res. The JapanInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA) will begin the groundwork in August, while full-scale assistance is expected to start in fiscal year 2027
Japan’s ODA Program Shifts to Protect Creative Industries
ODA is a long-running foreign aid program by the Japanesegovernment that provides loans, grants, and technical cooperation to developing countries. Recently, ODA facilitated a loan of INR 16,420 Cr. (~$1.72M) to India for projects across health, transport, and agricultural industries
Following July 5, the fund, which was traditionally used to finance infrastructural projects, will now also be deployed to improve copyright enforcement and institutional capacity in countries where Japanese intellectual property is widely consumed
Under the initiative, Japan plans to dispatch legal specialists, organize awareness campaigns, and invite regional experts from partner countries to Japan for copyright training. A senior official emphasized that “it will also help protect rights when developing countries create (their own) popular content.”
The initiative follows the recent increase in pirated content related to several Japanese intellectual properties. The country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has revealed that in 2025, the country’s content industry took a loss of ¥10.4 trillion (~$64.1 billion USD) due to pirated distribution and counterfeit goods
METI also reported that anime and manga piracy has tripled in the last
three years (2022-25). Anime and video content was identified as the most affected segment, which increased from ¥800B (~$5.24B) in 2022 to ¥2.3T (~$15.0B) in 2025
The ODA initiative lands just after a major piracy crackdown win in Vietnam. Vietnamese authorities arrested seven people on July 2 linked to HiAnime, once considered the world’s largest illegal anime streaming operation. It also follows recent lawsuits from Nippon Animation
and Crunchyroll, related to piracy and counterfeit goods
Kamalikaa
Kamalikaa Biswas is a content writer at Outlook Respawn specializing in pop culture. She holds a Master’s in English Literature from University of Delhi and leverages her media industry experience to deliver insightful content on the latest youth culture trends
Kamalikaa
Author
Kamalikaa Biswas is a content writer at Outlook Respawn specializing in pop culture. She holds a Master’s in English Literature from University of Delhi and leverages her media industry experience to deliver insightful content on the latest youth culture trends
Published At: 07 JUL 2026, 02:04 PM
Tags:AnimeJapanVietnam
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