How come the Japanese film industry doesn't pander to the Chinese market?

mdo7 said:


What evidence do you have? How could you explain Hollywood pandering to China when the US film market is #1 and China is #2. Also a lot of filmmakers over the world are taking the Chinese market seriously.

mdo7 said:
I'm already aware of this and I have studied the history of Taiwan and China relationship.

So it doesn't explain this: If US anger China so much (like over the South China Sea, THADD deployment in South Korea), then why didn't Mainland China ban Hollywood film already?

If China can ban Japanese films because of World War 2 past and the Senkaku Island tension, then why didn't they do the same to Hollywood films over the Taiwan issues, the South China Sea, and THADD deployment?

Now you see the problem why Japan is not pandering to China despite US/Hollywood doing this when China and US have tension.

Kuro_Negati said:

What evidence do I have that {a=c, b=d} does not mean {a=b, c=d} ? Basic logic.

Kuro_Negati said:


A little thing in modern politics called keeping appearances.

Besides, even outside of the political spectrum, the sub-capitalist economy of Nippon and the neo-Communist economy of China hold completely different working methods, ethics, and incentives, so cross-collaborative work would be nearly impossible. Do you know how expensive it is the market to another country without inside help? It would cost tens of billions of yen annually, so the margin in the end would likely remain under 15% or so, the majority of which would go right into worker compensation and future investment.

Kuro_Negati said:
The cost to ship one 45ft deep barge load of electronic and entertainment goods from Minato, Nippon to Hong Kong (the most likely loading and unloading points) by sea (the cheapest method available) is around 18,000 - 20,000 Yen per ton per shipment over the cost of the goods, assuming they used a small private intermediary service and didn't insure their product against loss. For 50,000,000 units of product (not that much, really), that adds up to around 400 - 450 tons, resulting in millions of yen spent by the company just to move their product. After organization, licensing, distribution, advertising, it comes out to around 450,000,000,000 Yen for barely a quarter's worth of goods. If the products sell 40% at an average of 30,000 Yen, the gross cap is around 600,000,000,000 Yen. A mere 25% potential net before extraneous costs are even mentioned. And keep in mind, unlike raw materials, electronics and entertainment goods require upkeep, secured storage, quality control, shipments can be damaged during transport, anything could happen.

mdo7 said:


Because I have a lot of knowledge in foreign affairs and Asian culture. I've also been observing how China treat Japan, US, South Korea, and India. I'll say this, the way Japan treat US, India, and South Korea when it comes to tension with China's policies is not consistent with how they treat Japan.

You're going to need something more then just "basic logic" in order for me to take you seriously.



Why do you keep refering Japan as "Nippon"? Japan and South Korea's are similar yet South Korea are able to target the Chinese market successfully when Japan can't.

When you say it's too expensive to market into China, what do you mean by that? South Korea, and USA doesn't seem to have any problem spending millions to market their pop culture in Mainland China? Why is that a problem for Japan when South Korea is able to do this?



OK where did you get this data from? Please provide links or an article that back up your facts. What does this have to do with Japan not pandering to China when Hollywood, South Korea are able to take the Chinese market seriously.

I can also argue the same thing for South Korea, and yet they're doing well in China.

Kuro_Negati said:

You keep mentioning South Korea, who are only a few hundred kilometers from the Chinese border. Of course it's easier for them to ship to China; they're practically bordering. The US can ship to China because "Hollywood", as you say, is much more consolidated industry. "Hollywood" is mainly distributed by three companies, so each of these companies has a very large pool of available capital, thus they have the capabilities to fund a long term project like building a marketing presence in China. As for where I got that pricing information, it's called arithmetic. A quick Google search can find the average cost of low-end private shipping companies and the standard international rate. Including projections for extraneous costs is just basic business model. I refer to "Japan" as "Nippon" because "Japan" is Nippon. The word "Japan" is of Chinese origin, and just means "land to the east" (literal: "land toward dawn"), while Nippon is the actual given name of the country in its own language.

mdo7 said:

You still need to back up your statement with facts, I always back up my statement with facts. If you can't, then I can't take you seriously. It would help if you include links that back up your statements you stated on your post. I do question your knowledge on whatever you stated.

There are film industry in other part of the world that take the Chinese market seriously. You don't fully answer the question about Japan?

Why didn't Japan pander to China when Hollywood, South Korea, Bollywood, and other film industry are taking the Chinese market seriously?

I mean China has tension with South Korea and US and yet they didn't ban Hollywood films nor Korean pop culture at all.

Why don't you just refer Japan as Japan and not Nippon, not a lot of anime fans may not know what that is. You don't see me calling South Korea "Daehan Min-guk" like the way you called Japan Nippon.

Kuro_Negati said:

By the way, I could just as easily ask where you got your facts. How do you prove anime would do well if marketing were focused on China? How do you prove "Hollywood" is making a substantial profit in China? Don't ask for my sources and not give your own... (and I don't mean those social news links in the OP, I mean legitimate projectional data, profit margins, cost-expense lists)

mdo7 said:


Well the topic is about live-action film, not anime. But I guess I can answer your questions:

How do you prove anime would do well if marketing were focused on China?

Well that's the problem, I never seen Nippon releasing a government white paper about anime/manga overseas unlike how South Korea does it for their pop culture content:



Source: Korea Times

I never seen Japan doing this:



Source: Korea Times

That's right, South Korea actually take their international fanbases seriously compared to Japan. I have never seen Japan doing a survey on how many or how big the international anime fanbases are. As a matter fact after I saw what South Korea, that make me question if anime's international fanbases is not as big.

How do you prove "Hollywood" is making a substantial profit in China?

You never bother to read this:

Jackie Chan: 'Warcraft' Success in China "Scares the Americans"

I don't see the Hollywood's Chinese pandering dying down, they're still continuing even to this day. If the Japanese film industry wanted to get more money, then the Chinese market could be their lifeline. I don't understand why they're not pandering to China when other film industry are doing this. Japan is #4 and China is #2, so it would make sense to pander to the Chinese market.

and I don't mean those social news links in the OP, I mean legitimate projectional data, profit margins, cost-expense lists

What's wrong with my sources, I used credible sources and I checked them carefully before I posted them up. What you don't trust the media or something.

Kuro_Negati said:

The Chinese market being larger does'n't mean it's a necessary route. For JLA movies, the market is very niche, consisting mostly of domestic audience. While China may have interest and opportunity for LA film, that doesn't translate to consumer spending. Basically, for it to be profitable for Nippon to target a Chinese market, they need assurance that Chinese would choose JLA films over US films when it comes time to buy. For example, put a hardcore niche sci-fi film and a general audience comedy film in front of the average person and they're more likely to choose the comedy film. The same generally applies to JLA films.

PeenusWeenusCaim said:
Because it's hard to understand the audience of a country you don't live in.

Because China is big on censoring media that doesn't fit their government's narrative.

Because Chinese are known for pirating and bootlegging media.

Because a lot of Chinese hate Japan.

Because the laws regarding entertainment and copyright there are a mess.

Because the Japanese want to focus on the safer more reliable home market.

Because modern Japanese movies suck and making an absolute shitshow go international is only going to be a waste of resources.

ShyGuyDY said:

I think this pretty much sums up what some people are probably thinking, me included.

hotsushikun said:
I am from Serbia and the topics you've made like reminds me you are an simply pain and permesstic view towards Korea and China doing better than Japan is.

mdo7 said:


Have you never pondered why Japan's film industry never pander to China when Hollywood, Bollywood, South Korea, and the rest of Europe take the Chinese market seriously?

If you can think and answer me that question, then why do you bother trolling me like that.

Crow_Black said:
think i may have answerewd on this thread before but i believe i recall saying that they mainly focus on domestic market instead of worldwide in general. Thats why they no appeal to Chinese market besides history of tensions as well.