Media & Entertainment Landscape of Japan
1,809 Media & Entertainment companies in Japan, in one picture: who is hiring, who is raising money, who founded them, where they are based and what the news is about. Updated August 2026.
Who leads Media & Entertainment in Japan
Shows the top Media & Entertainment firms in Japan by size, funding and hiring activity, noting 1,809 tracked companies and that 100 have disclosed a funding round.
- 01
Kozure2last posted Jul 2026
- 02
Brave group2last posted Jun 2026
- 03
Queri2last posted Jun 2026
- 04
Team Lab1last posted Jan 2026
- 05
NineSigma Holdings1last posted Jun 2026
- 06
Chronicle Creations1last posted Nov 2025
- 07
peco japan1last posted Aug 2025
- 08
Culture Entertainment1last posted Aug 2026
- 01
Yahoo Japan$4BPost IPO · May 2019
- 02
Publication Digital$180.8MPE · Mar 2012
- 03
- 04
ANA NEO$46.4MVenture Debt · Oct 2022
- 05
Mitsumore$40.8MSeries B · Apr 2026
- 06
Gunosy$24.1MSeries A · Jun 2014
- 07
Antenna$20.6MSeries A · Aug 2013
- 08
Comic Smart$19.5MSeries A · Aug 2024
- 01
SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS10,869tracked employees
- 02
nippon tv9,728tracked employees
- 03
FUJI Media Holdings8,295tracked employees
- 04
toho6,163tracked employees
- 05
Sega3,238tracked employees
- 06
avex2,131tracked employees
- 07
kinokuniya1,140tracked employees
- 08
Kayak608tracked employees
- 01
CyberAgent14.3%16 tracked events
- 02
- 03
- 04
Mixi9.8%11 tracked events
- 05
- 06
- 07
Michael4.5%5 tracked events
- 08
- 01
- 02
- 03
Nola≥69articles in the window
- 04
Bushiroad≥48articles in the window
- 05
- 06
- 07
DMM.com≥24articles in the window
- 08
PancakeSwap≥19articles in the window
See all 1,809 Media & Entertainment companies in Japan
Filter by funding, headcount, hiring and location, and export the list.
How the Media & Entertainment ecosystem in Japan grew, 2016–2025
Displays the annual count of new companies from 2016 to 2025, highlighting a peak of 102 founded in 2020 and only 10 in 2025.
Where Media & Entertainment companies in Japan are based
Lists the Japanese cities with the most Media & Entertainment firms, with Tokyo leading at 459 companies followed by Shibuya and Chiyoda City.
The Media & Entertainment market map of Japan: what these companies actually do
Breaks down the products these firms create and their revenue models, showing consumer digital as the largest sub‑category and advertising as the most common revenue source.
The biggest kinds of Media & Entertainment company, by how many we track.
- Consumer Digital940 companies · $4.6B raised · 6 hiring
- Enterprise Tech176 companies · $424.4M raised · 6 hiring
- B2C E-Commerce124 companies · $67.3M raised
- Loneliness Economy65 companies · $65M raised
- Marketplaces61 companies · $25.6M raised · 1 hiring
- Internet First News Publishers61 companies
- Book Reading Apps50 companies · $6.5M raised
- Enterprise Software47 companies · $24.3M raised · 1 hiring
- Real Money Gaming38 companies
- SaaS34 companies · $37.1M raised · 2 hiring
- Internet First Sports Media33 companies
- Blockchain28 companies · $15.7M raised
Monetization
How Media & Entertainment companies make money
How many companies earn revenue each way. Plenty use more than one model, so the counts add up to more than the sector.
Funding, M&A and the deals moving Media & Entertainment in Japan
Counts corporate events over the past two years, recording 134 events including mergers, leadership changes and earnings releases.
- M&AMedia Do has agreed to acquire Seven Seas for $80 million.2026-03-02
- M&APer GameBiz, an official "merger notice" has confirmed that TMS Entertainment will soon take over its subsidiary, Telecom Animation Film.2026-02-17
- FundingMeetsMore, a Tokyo, Japan–based technology company that provides a SaaS platform for field service businesses, has secured a Series B strategic round from SMBC Edge.2026-02-09
- FundingSpectee, a Tokyo, Japan-based provider of supply chain risk management SaaS for manufacturers, has raised ¥1.25 billion in Series E2 funding round.2026-02-04
- FundingPierrot Company secures funding from SparkLabs & CNTTech to expand its global IT device redistribution platform.2026-02-01
- M&AKadokawa's purchase of control (US$ 320 million) and participation of 2.5% in Bandai Namco (US$ 460 million).2025-12-19
- M&AIn February 2022, Nintendo bought long-time development partner SRD.2025-11-27
- FundingThe team has backed projects in the BNB ecosystem, including PancakeSwap, ListaDAO, and Aspecta (from the MVB program).2025-10-08
- M&AMIXI’s $402 million takeover bid in late June2025-07-16
- M&AThe Japanese entertainment conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings is poised to complete its acquisition of GAN Limited, marking a significant milestone in its expansion strategy.2025-05-20
Mergers and acquisitions
Deals from the last 24 months where a Media & Entertainment company in Japan was the buyer or the one bought, newest first. “Undisclosed” means the price was never published — not that the deal was worth nothing.
| Acquirer | Target | Deal value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $80M | Announced | 2026-03-02 | ||
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-02-17 | ||
| $460M | — | 2025-12-19 | ||
| undisclosed | Announced | 2025-12-19 | ||
| undisclosed | Completed | 2025-11-27 | ||
| undisclosed | Completed | 2025-09-01 |
Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work
Provides details on specific corporate events such as leadership moves and customer contract wins.
sankyowon Metabasis Therapeutics Inc.Feb 2025
HashPalettewon Aptos LabsOct 2024
- Yomiuri Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun of Osaka, Yomiuri Shimbun o v perplexity aicopyright infringementAug 2025
- N, A v Sega Sammy HoldingsM&A acquisition dispute over regulatory compliance · SettledApr 2025
Half of these companies grew revenue faster than -3.1%, half slower.
Who is building Media & Entertainment in Japan
Profiles founders and CEOs of 310 companies, noting 353 individuals and the most frequent alma maters and prior employers.
CEO Euclid Labs, ex-Cisco, Charles River Laboratories. University of Nevada-Reno 2002, Waseda University MBA 2011
Ex-Director vivit, GREE. Teikyo University 2008
Founder ke-tai.org.
ex-Founder Ultrasupernew & Lenz, Madcap Studios. Cyber Media K K. University of Technology Sydney 1997
Ex-JPMorgan Chase & Co, SMBC Nikko Securities. Keio University 2013
Ex-DMM.com Group, DeNA · Tokyo Institute of Technology
Founder & CEO-SURF MUSIC, 2SOUL Music
YNU Yokohama 2012
University of Tokyo LLB 2016
Look up the people behind Media & Entertainment companies in Japan
Search founders, executives and operators by company, role and location.
Who funds Media & Entertainment in Japan
Summarizes investment activity with 196 funding rounds since 2016 from 306 investors, averaging $2.6 million per round.
| Investor · most active investors since 2016 | Rounds | Led | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mizuho Capital | 12 | 2 | Apr 2026 |
| SMBC Venture Capital | 9 | 1 | Mar 2024 |
| Mitsubishi UFJ Capital | 7 | 2 | Feb 2026 |
| East Ventures | 7 | — | Nov 2025 |
| World Innovation Lab | 6 | 2 | Aug 2025 |
| D4V | 6 | 1 | May 2025 |
| Chiba Dojo | 6 | 1 | May 2025 |
| STRIVE | 5 | 1 | Oct 2020 |
| JFC | 5 | — | Apr 2026 |
| Ntt Docomo Ventures | 4 | 3 | Dec 2023 |
The typical round is $2.6M — half were bigger, half smaller.
The biggest Media & Entertainment funding rounds in Japan
Highlights the biggest disclosed funding deals, including Brave group’s $50.3 million Series E round and nine other large rounds.
| Company | Round | Size | When | Backers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series E | $50.3M | Apr 2026 | REALITY, Cool Japan Fund, Mizuho Bank +15 more | |
| Series D | $21.6M | Dec 2023 | Sumisho Venture Partners, Twave, Yostar Games +4 more | |
| Series A | $20.6M | Aug 2013 | Macromill | |
| Series A | $19.5M | Aug 2024 | DIMENSION, Dai-Ichi Life, World Innovation Lab +1 more | |
| Series B | $18.9M | Apr 2026 | SMBC Edge, X&KSK, MS&AD Ventures +1 more | |
| Series B | $17.2M | Aug 2022 | Eight Roads Ventures, MPower Partners, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital +2 more | |
| Series A | $15.5M | May 2024 | SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS, Pegasus Tech Ventures, GENDA Capital +2 more | |
| Series B | $15.5M | May 2024 | SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS, GENDA Capital, ALHD +1 more | |
| Series D | $13.6M | Aug 2023 | Simplex Asset Management, Adways Ventures, Tokyo University of Science +2 more | |
| Series A | $12M | Mar 2014 | — |
43 venture rounds with a disclosed amount in the window.
Series B$2.1MApr 2026
Series BundisclosedApr 2026
Seed$6.3MMar 2026
Series B$8.4MFeb 2026
What the news says about Media & Entertainment in Japan
Counts media coverage of the sector, with 406,412 articles in the last year focusing on international entities, geopolitical issues and sports competitions.
What the coverage is about
The subjects that dominate Media & Entertainment news in Japan. The arrow shows whether each one is being written about more or less than a year ago.
- International and transnational geographic entities≥300,276▲+33%
- Geopolitical disputes and contested areas≥300,272▲+33%
- Administrative and political subdivisions≥300,225▲+33%
- International sports competitions≥40,905▼-22%
- International political relations≥34,933▲+12%
- Olympic games coverage≥31,204▼-48%
- International relations and diplomacy≥24,183→+2%
- Security and defense policies≥23,491▲+20%
- Trade policies and agreements≥22,862▲+28%
- Trade wars and geopolitical impacts≥18,467▲+16%
- ≥475
- ≥73
- ≥69
- ≥48
- ≥44
- ≥25
- ≥24
- ≥19
- ≥15
- ≥10
24 Media & Entertainment companies here were named in the news over this period.
Watch Media & Entertainment coverage in Japan as it happens
Prism follows these subjects story by story — which companies are named, what is said about them and how the tone moves.
Momentum
The words getting louder — and quieter
Which terms are showing up in more stories than a year ago, and which are fading. The percentage is the change in how many articles mention them.
The pressures the press keeps returning to
Three recurring angles in Japan Media & Entertainment coverage, and whether each is getting more attention year on year (through 2025).
Track Media & Entertainment in Japan beyond this page
Radar finds and filters the companies. Prism watches what is being said about them.
Direct contact details for the people on this page are held in Fliar Radar, behind its own access controls.