As Tokyo International Film Festival has raised its game and its profile over recent years, its content market TIFFCOM has been carving out its own niche, bolstered by the attractiveness of Japanese IP.

On top of attracting more exhibitors and visitors, the market has expanded its seminar offerings, landing bigger industry names to speak at them.

In addition to the popularity of anime, the potential of manga and gameshow IP, and the success of Japan-related productions like Shōgun, interest in Japan itself is at an all-time high - nearly 43 million people visited last year. This concatenation of factors is delivering a boost to the fest and the market, acknowledges TIFFCOM managing director Kaori Ikeda.

 It definitely is…Tokyo is probably one of the most fascinating cities in the world, and Japan is enjoying a boom. So definitely this supports our activities, because we are dealing with culture,  Ikeda tells The Hollywood Reporter as she and the TIFFCOM team were putting the final touches to preparations a few days before the market opens.

Ikeda is in her third year as TIFFCOM managing director following a career with Japanese indie distributor Asmik Ace - where her acquisitions included Trainspotting and Dead Man Walking,  those kinds of good old ones  - a project with DreamWorks and five years at Japanese cable major J:COM.

Among the initiatives she points to is the relaunch last year of Tokyo Story Market, which focused on book adaptation with Japanese publishing companies, as Tokyo IP Market: Adaptation   Remake, with a broader remit, this year bringing in remake-rights holders including film companies such as Toei and Shochiku, and toy company Takara Tomy.

 This year Japan was the Country of Honour at the Cannes Marché du Film, which we collaborated with and took Tokyo IP Market there to introduce Japanese IP that could be adapted in various ways, into film, games or any other form,  says Ikeda, who emphasizes that it is being backed by major investment from the Japanese government and industry.

Ikeda hails the Cannes venture a success that is likely to happen again, saying it
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