Japan plans perks for foreign filmmakers
TOKYO: The government is planning to introduce incentives for filmmakers that shoot their movies in Japan, offering subsidies and tax breaks, according to sources.
Some local governments already offer such incentives, but it would be the first time for the central government to establish a system to attract filmmakers to Japan.
The government aims to introduce the system soon after conducting research on existing incentive packages overseas. It hopes the initiative will boost the domestic film industry by enticing big-budget movie productions to shoot in Japan.
It also hopes domestic and foreign tourists will be attracted to film locations, supporting the government’s goal of promoting Japan as a “tourism- oriented country.”
The government will examine such factors as the content and screening criteria of incentive packages offered to filmmakers by 14 countries and regions, along with records of productions that ultimately went to those countries and the economic impact. The 14 countries and regions will include the United States and New Zealand, which are frequently used for the locations of big-budget movies.
The government plans to compile its research results by February, before starting discussions on the details of incentives to be introduced in Japan. The package will be decided sometime in the next fiscal year and the government hopes to introduce it in fiscal 2019 at the earliest.
Some foreign countries have launched nationwide campaigns to attract filmmakers to produce movies in their countries.
New Zealand established a subsidy system for big-budget movies in 2000. Since 2015, the government has paid a grant of 20 per cent of film production costs in New Zealand on the condition that production budgets in New Zealand be at least NZ$ 15 million, with an extra five per cent available to films that are predicted to bring economic benefits to New Zealand.
Blockbusters including The Last Samurai and The Lord of the Rings series were filmed in New Zealand, and tours to filming locations have served as beneficial tourism resources. — The Japan News/Yomiuri