Companies

Netflix to Boost Production of Japanese Titles, as Subscribers Skyrocket in Asia

Yasuhiro Kobayashi / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria speaks during an interview in Los Angeles on Monday.

By Yasuhiro Kobayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

7:00 JST, November 21, 2024

NEW YORK — Netflix Inc. intends to boost production of Japanese content, including anime, an executive for the major U.S. video streaming giant has said.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria told The Yomiuri Shimbun, among other media outlets, in Los Angeles on Monday of the plans for more Japanese titles.

In particular, the firm plans to focus more on anime, which it considers to be a very important genre, she said.

Bajaria said non-English titles, such as Japanese, South Korean and Spanish titles, have become popular on Netflix because of the greater availability of subtitles and dubbing.

She said that if a work from a particular country is supported by viewers in that country, its popularity will spread around the world through social media. She stressed the importance of creating works that resonate with people in each country.

Most recently, the company’s Japanese catalog has seen a hit with “Jimenshitachi” (“Tokyo Swindlers”).

In 2025, Netflix plans to release the third season of the Japanese series “Imawa no Kuni no Alice” (“Alice in Borderland”), starring Kento Yamazaki. It also plans to release a remake of the 1975 film “Shinkansen Daibakuha” (“The Bullet Train”), which features Ken Takakura. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi will star in the remake.

Netflix subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Japan, reached 52.6 million at the end of September, up by about 10 million in one year. The increase in Japan has been particularly striking, Bajaria said.

Growth has been driven by an increasing number of high-quality works from Japan, she added.

She went on to say that anime is on the rise worldwide and that Netflix will continue to expand its investments in anime production.

Netflix’s sales and net profit for the July-September period hit record highs, according to the company. Subscribers also rise to an all-time high, it said.

The second season of the popular series “Squid Game” will come out in late December.

In October, Netflix upped its monthly fee for Japan. That might make it harder for the platform to keep growing its subscriber base.