Japan’s anime market has reached a new milestone, hitting a record high of 4.45 trillion yen (S$36 billion) in 2025. This marks the first time the industry has surpassed the 4 trillion yen mark, driven largely by strong overseas sales, according to the Association of Japanese Animations.
The market has more than doubled since 2015, when it stood at 1.8 trillion yen. Overseas sales alone accounted for 2.54 trillion yen in 2025, surpassing domestic sales for the first time in 2020. This growth has been fueled by the expansion of streaming services like Netflix, which have made Japanese animation more accessible globally amid a post-pandemic boom.
One of the standout contributions to this growth in 2025 was the film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle, adapted from the popular manga series Demon Slayer (2016 to 2020). The success of such works highlights the increasing global familiarity with Japanese animation.
Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the Association of Japanese Animations, noted at an event in Tokyo that the market and potential of Japanese animation are expanding further as it becomes more familiar worldwide. The Japanese government has set an ambitious target to boost overseas sales of content such as games, anime, and manga to 20 trillion yen by 2033, up from around 5.8 trillion yen in 2023.