Japan has extended its local production incentive scheme for a further year after supporting 10 film and TV series titles in 2024, including upcoming drama The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
The overall programme remains largely unchanged but the number of application periods has been increased from three to four, the first of which opens today (March 27).
Feature films that received support from the initiative last year include Benny Safdie’s upcoming sports biopic The Smashing Machine; Indian romantic drama One Day, produced by Aamir Khan; and Brendan Fraser vehicle Rental Family;
Further features include Ha-Chan Shake Your Booty from US filmmaker Josef Kubota Wladyka, whose credits include Max crime drama series Tokyo Vice; and David Tomaszewski’s fantasy film Yoroi, co-produced by Cine France and Japan’s Toho Tombo.
TV series that have benefited from the incentive include season two of Apple TV+’s Godzilla series Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters; South Korean drama series What Comes After Love; and Neuromancer, a US series adaptation of the 1984 William Gibson sci-fi novel, produced by Skydance Television and Anonymous Content with Japan’s Wowow.
Japan’s incentive scheme was officially launched in 2023 to attract international productions to shoot in the country. It offers a cash rebate of 50% to selected productions whose direct production costs in Japan exceed $3.3m (¥500m) or whose total production costs exceed $6.7m (¥1bn) and whose direct production costs in Japan exceed $1.3m (¥200m). The upper limit for subsidies is $6.7m (¥1bn).
This year’s round of applications will run from March 27 – April 10, May 19 – June 6, July 28 – August 22 and September 29 – October 17. The project completion date must be set within 90 days of the completion of the work or January 31, 2026, whichever comes first.
The programme is owned by the Japanese government’s ministry of economy, trade and industry, operated by the country’s Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) and coordinated by the Japan Film Commission.
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