It’s official – Japanese movies take over foreign films in Japan
The article is saying that in 2006, total revenue from Japanese films surpassed foreign movies for the first time since 1985. Out of total revenue of 202.5 billion yen, Japanese movies took 53.2% and foreign movies did 46.8%. In 2005, the figure was 41.3% versus 58.7%, and that year’s Top 10 ranking of total sales showed 6 out of 10 ranks were occupied by foreign movies. And after 2 years later on, in 2008, the number for Japanese movies even grew and the result was 59.5% versus 40.5%.
Positive effects seen in trades of creative products would be at least four. One, people can enjoy more variations. Today, we can buy music albums from different countries so easily at HMV. Two, with increased competition by foreign entrants, the quality of products can be higher. In the case of Japanese movie industry, high pressure from foreign movies might have motivated Japanese film makers to create better films. Three, trades of creative products can be a cultural exchange. People can learn overseas culture by reading, listening, watching, and using them. Four, thorough trades of creative products, there would be more chances for people around the world to enjoy the product, and it will be resulted in the producer’s great satisfaction. Creative industry producers often want international fame with their products.
There are also some negative aspects of trading creative goods. One is an erosion of cultural assets. In today’s global economy, it is said that people in different countries came to lead more or less similar lifestyle. Two is that free competition in global market of creative industry might not be always a benefit. Referring to an example of movie industry, some of the categories, such as small independent films and so-called avant-garde films need to be protected from competition in the market to survive and be passed down to future generation as cultural assets.
From the articles, we can see that Japanese films have been wining for several years despite the fact that more and more films have been being distributed in Japan. In Japanese movie industry, it had been said that Hollywood movies were threatening domestic films’ presence. But, we might be able to see the result as a selection of good movies and bad ones. Even if more and more foreign movies come to be distributed in Japan, if Japanese movies’ quality is high enough to win the customers over foreign rivals, it might not going to be a problem.
In today’s global market, it is inevitable to coexist or compete with foreign products. So, considering a way to make avail of positive effects and eliminate downsides in trades of creative goods should be the way to make a presence in creative industry market.
Retrieved from:
http://hogacentral.blogs.com/hoganews/2007/01/its_official_ja.html
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200911050172.html
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