Japan’s New Era of Global Content Collaboration Takes Center Stage at Mip London

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran A panel of Japanese media executives and international collaborators gathered at Mip London to discuss the evolving landscape of Japanese content in global markets across unscripted formats, documentaries, and scripted drama.

The session highlighted how Japanese creativity is finding new pathways to international success through strategic partnerships and adaptation of content for global audiences.

Fotini Paraskakis of Asia-based content incubator Empire Arcadia detailed her company’s collaboration with ABC (Asahi Broadcasting Corporation) Japan and creative powerhouse DiTurn, the Korean company of “The Masked Singer” creator Park Wonwoo, on “100,” a music entertainment show with a unique format where contestants form groups whose ages must total 100. “It’s a three-way collaboration in music, a musical game show created by ABC Japan, DiTurn and ourselves,” Paraskakis explained. “It’s one of the first unscripted projects between Korea and Japan and us as the third party international partner.” Nami Komo of ABC Japan underscored the storytelling strengths that Japanese producers bring to these collaborations. “Our expertise is always storytelling.

At ABC Japan, we do a lot of touching feel-good stories back in Japan. So we felt that the combination between gamification and our storytelling together is very relevant.” The show has already premiered successfully in both Japan and Korea, with each version tailored to its market – the Japanese version focusing on human stories and celebration, while the Korean adaptation emphasizes larger-scale gamification elements.