Japan’s Anime Market Hits Record $25 Billion, Driven by Global Boom, AJA Report Finds

Japan’s anime industry reached an all-time high in 2024, climbing to JPY3.84 trillion ($25.25 billion) in total market value, according to data presented by the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) at TIFFCOM, the market arm of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The session, which also featured presentations by “Godzilla” studio Toho Global on its international strategy, the “Gundam” franchise, and Annecy-winning feature “ChaO” — which is also screening at the Tokyo festival — underscored how anime continues to drive Japan’s expanding global content economy.

Overseas revenues surged 26% year-on-year to JPY2.17 trillion ($14.27 billion), while local earnings rose 2.8% to JPY1.67 trillion ($10.98 billion). This marks the second-highest annual growth rate on record after 2019’s 15.3% increase.

AJA chair Kazuko Ishikawa, who is also president of Nippon Animation, said anime has become a core pillar of Japan’s cultural and economic exports. She added that the association aims to further improve industry conditions so that creators and studios can continue producing high-quality works that resonate with audiences worldwide.

The upcoming Anime Industry Report 2025, set for publication in December, divides the market into two key sectors: the broad “anime industry market,” which estimates total consumer spending across anime-related goods and licensing, and the narrower “anime production market,” which tracks studio revenues.

The production-side market also set a record in 2024, rising 9.1% year-on-year to JPY466.2 billion ($3.06 billion). Overseas business contributed JPY118.8 billion ($781 million) — still a smaller share overall, but growing steadily year by year.

“The overseas market now far exceeds local revenues, and the gap will only widen,” said Masahiko Hasegawa, editor-in-chief of the AJA report. “Growth today includes bundled contracts that span theatrical, streaming, merchandising, and event rights — not just content distribution.”

AJA data indicates that overseas anime revenues overtook domestic earnings in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic, and that the gap widened dramatically in 2024. The International Otaku Events Association now lists 136 anime-related events in 51 countries and regions, reinforcing the genre’s global momentum.

Japan’s government continues to position anime and related media — including film, games, manga, and music — as a strategic core industry. Under its revised Cool Japan initiative, the national goal is to triple overseas content sales to JPY20 trillion ($131.4 billion) by 2033, from approximately JPY5.8 trillion ($38 billion) in 2024.

AJA forecasts that future growth will not only come from distribution and theatrical revenues but from exporting Japan’s entire anime ecosystem, including merchandise tie-ins, retail campaigns, and cross-media collaborations.

“Anime is no longer just storytelling,” said Hasegawa. “It’s a full cultural economy — and that economy is rapidly going global.”