Japan's METI selected 27 anime and game projects under its IP360 content subsidy, covering half of production costs up to ¥1.5 billion each. We break down how the program works, the backlash over funding companies like DeNA, and how Japan stacks up against South Korea and the US.
Japan is rewriting its seed law to add ten years to breeders' rights and let officials block exports even before a variety is registered. We unpack the new bill now in the upper house, the suspected leak of Ehime's premium citrus to China, and why the 2020 version left a hole that fruit pirates walked right through.
Japan estimates the leak of its Shine Muscat grape to China and South Korea costs about $120 million a year. We unpack how a missed registration deadline, a strawberry precedent and a too-late seed law left one of Japan's best fruits unprotected abroad.