Japan’s Anime Market Hits Record $28.2 Billion as Local Sales Surge

Spending on Japanese anime worldwide reached a record JPY4.45 trillion ($28.2 billion) in 2025. That is up 15.8% on the previous year, and overseas consumers now account for well over half of the total.

Hasegawa Masahiro, editor-in-chief of the Association of Japanese Animations’ (AJA) annual “Anime Industry Report,” presented the preliminary figures Friday at TIFFCOM, the market attached to the Tokyo International Film Festival. The final numbers will appear in the 2026 edition of the report when it is published in December.

The rate of growth was also a record, edging past the 15.7% posted in 2024. Overseas revenue climbed 17.2% to JPY2.54 trillion ($16.1 billion), while the local market grew 14.1% to JPY1.91 trillion ($12.1 billion). The overseas share of the total rose to 57.1% from 56.5% a year earlier.

Much of the gain came from home. Local growth was 4.6% in 2024, based on revised figures for 2023, while overseas growth slowed from the 26% recorded that year.

For years, a sluggish home market sat alongside rapid growth abroad. Hasegawa said 2025 broke that pattern, with both sides growing strongly. Overseas revenue first overtook local revenue in 2023, and the gap has widened every year since. He cautioned that exchange rates and global conditions affect the comparison. He added that the overseas total reflects a range of market factors, not only how well individual titles travel.

The AJA measures the business two ways. The broad figure estimates what consumers spend on everything connected to anime, from TV, film and streaming to merchandise, music and live events. A narrower measure tracks revenue earned by animation studios themselves. That studio figure rose 8.4% to a record JPY505.5 billion ($3.2 billion), a slightly slower pace than the 9.1% growth of 2024.

Overseas business made up 27.9% of studio revenue, up from 25.5% in 2024. Studios do not always deal directly with international partners, Hasegawa noted, which keeps that share relatively low.

“The idea of studios holding the rights to their own works and managing them to generate revenue is growing year by year,” he said.

Hasegawa pointed to Japanese titles placing high at the box office in various territories and on global streaming charts. “Just last week, I saw a report that a Japanese anime was No. 2 globally,” he said. “I believe the breakthrough has truly been achieved.”

Japanese anime make up 100 of the 300 TV series with the most user votes on IMDb, including nine of the top 20. “Attack on Titan” leads the ranking with 726,000 votes, ahead of “Rick and Morty.” “Death Note” is No. 3 and “One Piece” No. 9. The other Japanese titles in the top 20 are “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,” “Demon Slayer,” “One-Punch Man,” “Naruto Shippuden,” “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Hunter x Hunter.”

The data feeds into a government target for content exports of JPY20 trillion ($126.9 billion) in overseas sales by 2033, with anime expected to contribute JPY6 trillion ($38.1 billion). Japanese content earned JPY6.1 trillion ($38.7 billion) abroad in 2024, and anime accounted for roughly one-third of that.

In the report’s survey, studios listed two priorities for growth markets: localization fitted to local language, culture and law, and anti-piracy measures.

At home, Hasegawa said, anime has long worked as a driver for related content, goods and services. Abroad, it has so far succeeded mainly as something to watch, and the next phase is selling merchandise and services to fans worldwide. He singled out family anime, which is recognized across generations in Japan, as a category whose wide reach at home could become merchandising sales abroad.

“By taking the structure that has been built up in Japan overseas, I believe we can grow toward the JPY6 trillion target,” Hasegawa said.

Ishikawa Kazuko, who heads both the AJA and Nippon Animation, opened the session.

“Above all, it is essential that we build a better environment in which the creators who make the works, and everyone involved in production management, can devote themselves to creating with peace of mind,” Ishikawa said.