Japan’s Wowow Launches Production Services Unit (Exclusive)

Leading Japanese pay-TV broadcasting company Wowow is planting a flag in the production services business, hoping to both encourage and profit from a surge of industry interest in Japan-set live-action content. The company revealed Wednesday the launch of Tokyo Bridge, a new subsidiary that will provide a full suite of services to international film and television projects targeting shoots in Japan.

Wowow said the decision to launch a production services arm was spawned from its experience as a co-producer of Max’s acclaimed crime series Tokyo Vice. The show’s executive producer, Kayo Washio, who serves as Wowow’s head of U.S. operations and chief producer for international co-productions, acquisitions and distribution, was instrumental in bringing the show to Japan and supplying an array of on-the-ground relationships and services. Washio will expand her role and oversee the team at Wowow Bridge, while also relocating to Los Angeles to work more closely with the U.S. industry.

Wowow is the first major Japanese broadcaster to launch a division targeting work on foreign productions, but it will be riding a wave of interest in the area. With the Japanese yen at its weakest point against the dollar in decades and international enthusiasm for Japanese culture at an all-time high, the number of inbound tourists to the country continues to smash records. Viewer interest in both Japanese anime and live-action content continues to grow, with Netflix spending more than ever on both categories and Japanese films like Oscar winner Drive My Car and action blockbuster Godzilla Minus One making unprecedented headway with U.S. audiences. Last spring, Toho, Japan’s most powerful film studio, set its sights on the same opportunity with the launch of production services subsidiary Toho Tombo Pictures, a joint venture with veteran Japan-based producer Georgina Pope.

After years of stubbornly little top-down government support for the screen sector, Japan launched its first tax incentive scheme last year. The initial measure provides a rebate on 50 percent of qualified production spending in Japan, with a cap set at $6.25 million. Wowow’s Washio was instrumental in lobbying the Japanese government to introduce the measure.

“Since 2018, I’ve had a strong passion to invite international productions to Japan. Whenever I saw films and TV series featuring Japanese scenes, but not filmed in Japan, I was frustrated and began lobbying the government to launch a tax incentive system, which is now in place,” she says. “In the eyes of the global entertainment community, shooting in Japan can be complicated. We understand this and are here to help. We see ourselves as an invaluable partner for production teams and have proven that we are able to quickly assemble the necessary resources and personnel for productions that require extensive location work, special permits, or coordination with local authorities.”

Wowow Bridge says its doors are open to all international producers, studios and streamers looking to produce film, television, commercials, music videos, and other media projects in Japan. Key service offerings will include location scouting, permitting and management; budgeting and financial management; crew and talent hiring (above and below the line); equipment rental, transportation and setup; logistics coordination; legal and administrative support (reducing risks for those unfamiliar with Japan); and post-production services.

Added Washio: “I named the new venture Wowow Bridge because Japan is an island, but I hope we’ll be the bridge for overseas production and Japan. We will help international productions to make it easier to come to Japan.”

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