Tokyo: TIFFCOM Market Chief On Riding the Japanese IP Wave as Entertainment Landscape Shifts Due to AI

As Tokyo International Film Festival has raised its game and its profile over recent years, its content market TIFFCOM has been carving out its own niche, bolstered by the attractiveness of Japanese IP.

On top of attracting more exhibitors and visitors, the market has expanded its seminar offerings, landing bigger industry names to speak at them.

In addition to the popularity of anime, the potential of manga and gameshow IP, and the success of Japan-related productions like Shōgun, interest in Japan itself is at an all-time high – nearly 43 million people visited last year. This concatenation of factors is delivering a boost to the fest and the market, acknowledges TIFFCOM managing director Kaori Ikeda.

“It definitely is…Tokyo is probably one of the most fascinating cities in the world, and Japan is enjoying a boom. So definitely this supports our activities, because we are dealing with culture,” Ikeda tells The Hollywood Reporter as she and the TIFFCOM team were putting the final touches to preparations a few days before the market opens.

Ikeda is in her third year as TIFFCOM managing director following a career with Japanese indie distributor Asmik Ace – where her acquisitions included Trainspotting and Dead Man Walking, “those kinds of good old ones” – a project with DreamWorks and five years at Japanese cable major J:COM.

Among the initiatives she points to is the relaunch last year of Tokyo Story Market, which focused on book adaptation with Japanese publishing companies, as Tokyo IP Market: Adaptation & Remake, with a broader remit, this year bringing in remake-rights holders including film companies such as Toei and Shochiku, and toy company Takara Tomy.

“This year Japan was the Country of Honour at the Cannes Marché du Film, which we collaborated with and took Tokyo IP Market there to introduce Japanese IP that could be adapted in various ways, into film, games or any other form,” says Ikeda, who emphasizes that it is being backed by major investment from the Japanese government and industry.

Ikeda hails the Cannes venture a success that is likely to happen again, saying it brought together international producers and Japanese rights holders, and that she would like to include some smaller publishers which have limited experience in the global marketplace.

TIFFCOM logged about 4,600 visitors and 300 exhibitors in 2025, up strongly from previous editions, and is on track to equal or exceed those figures this year.

In line with the remake and co-production themes, the ‘Unlocking the Global Potential of Japanese IP’ session will feature producer Shinzo Matsuhashi (Kokuhō, Kingdom), Steven Maeda (Netflix’s One Piece), and Amazon MGM Studios Japan head Buddy Marini.

“And this year we are adding AI as a keynote. We have invited the executives from AGBO, Chris Brearton and Dominic Hughes for the Keynote: Technology and Storytelling, which we are very thrilled with,” adds Ikeda.

The Association of Japanese Animations will again release its annual industry data at its TIFFCOM session, while TV stations will present case studies of overseas format sales.

Another success story that Ikeda points to is the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, now in its seventh year of linking partially funded projects with production partners. Two now completed productions from last year will be screened in this edition of the festival’s Crosscut Asia+ section. Meanwhile, The Violinist, an animation which found an Italian partner at the 2023 event, took home the top award at Annecy this year, reports Ikeda proudly.

All the while, the industry is shifting as are viewing habits. Short dramas are winning over audiences – not least in Japan – streamers recently seen as saviors are cutting budgets and AI is disrupting.

“There are so many things happening in the market at the moment…So, we’re looking at how to be a better place for the industry to have business meetings and also to network,” adds Ikeda.

TIFFCOM runs Oct. 28 to 30 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho-kan.