Japan IP Market Set for Second Year in Cannes as Tokyo Partnership Continues

The Japan IP Market will return to Cannes next May for a second consecutive year. The Cannes Film Market and TIFFCOM, the content market of the Tokyo International Film Festival, will once more organize the event together, with the 2027 edition set for May 14-15.

The announcement came at TIFFCOM in Tokyo, during a conference on how Japan can build new international partnerships following its role as Country of Honor in Cannes. Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of industry programs at the Cannes Film Market, was among the panelists.

The Japan IP Market made its debut in May 2026 as one of several initiatives linked to Japan's Country of Honor status at the Cannes Film Market. The event brought Japanese rights holders together with international industry professionals through pitches, one-on-one meetings and industry discussions. Kadokawa, Shochiku and Toei Company were among the participating companies, and the speakers included Fujimura Tetsu, executive producer of "One Piece" and founder and CEO of Filosophia, Inc.

Guillaume Esmiol, executive director of the Cannes Film Market, said the Country of Honor program showed what a focused national presence can achieve. "The Japan IP Market is one of those outcomes: a collaboration that extends beyond a single edition and gives Japanese intellectual properties greater access to international partners," he said. He added that he was delighted to keep working with TIFFCOM to help rights holders connect with international producers and partners, develop new adaptations and bring their stories to global audiences.

Zakharchenko described the aim as creating the right conditions for business between Japanese rights holders and overseas companies. "By bringing them together in Cannes, we can help turn growing interest in Japanese content into concrete adaptation deals and acquisitions, while fostering new collaboration opportunities," she said.

Shiina Yasushi, executive adviser at UNIJAPAN and CEO of TIFFCOM, said the partnership with the Cannes market plays an important role for Japan's audiovisual industry. He called the Cannes market the biggest market attached to any film festival in the world. "Meeting the international professionals who gather there and creating together with them is the key to nurturing Japanese IP into global content," he said.

Ikeda Kaori, managing director of TIFFCOM, said the first edition demonstrated how eager producers and partners around the world are to work with Japanese IP. She said the continued link between Cannes in May and the Tokyo IP Market in October will allow more professionals to meet Japanese rights holders directly and discover the diversity of Japanese IP.

The lineup of companies for 2027 and the rest of the program will be announced in the coming months.