CJPF AWARD 2026 Award Result
Outline
We have selected and awarded outstanding works and initiatives in two categories: movies that showcase Japan's appeal to the world, and projects that create and expand new value and appeal for Japan internationally.
At the Cabinet Office, through the initiatives of the Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform (CJPF), which aims to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors as well as across different industries, we promote the discovery and dissemination of outstanding Cool Japan initiatives and encourage cross-industry cooperation. As part of these activities, we hold the Cool Japan Platform Award every year to support those who play a key role in advancing Cool Japan by recognizing outstanding initiatives that effectively communicate Japan’s appeal to the world.
This award invites projects that create new value and attractions of Japan and expand them overseas, as well as movies that convey the appeal of Japan to global audiences. Outstanding works are recognized in two categories: the Project Category and the Movie Category.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan exceeded 42 million last year, while travel expenditures reached approximately 9.5 trillion yen, both marking all-time highs. In the content sector, anime and manga continue to lead, while live-action films, music, and dramas have also gained popularity in countries around the world. In addition, a wide range of industries—including food, fashion, and beauty—are attracting international attention and contributing to economic growth.
In June 2024, the “New Cool Japan Strategy” (*1) was adopted, presenting a policy to further expand Cool Japan-related industries overseas and increase the number of fans of Japan. In order to achieve these goals, in addition to expanding the quantity and scope of initiatives, we will also promote measures that focus on qualitative aspects, such as enhancing added value by providing high-quality experiences.
To promote and expand Japan’s appeal globally and advance the Cool Japan strategy, the Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform (CJPF) held the CJPF Awards 2026 Ceremony on Monday, March 2, 2026, and recognized 14 outstanding award-winning initiatives.
*1:The "New Cool Japan Strategy" was developed as an action plan to effectively respond to changes in the environment surrounding Cool Japan. While maintaining the fundamental concepts and approaches outlined in previous Cool Japan strategies, it also includes strategic measures for the core content industry.
Video category
award results
“Discover Oita's Hidden Gems” is a beautifully crafted work that presents the lesser-known attractions of Oita Prefecture through cinematic visuals and a well-paced structure. Beyond its famous hot springs, the film elegantly portrays the “authentic Japan” rooted in the region, including stone Buddha carvings, primeval forests, and traditional crafts. It also thoughtfully incorporates practical information from the visitor’s perspective, such as how long it takes to travel between locations. From the viewpoint of international promotion, the content is likely to resonate strongly with affluent travelers and repeat visitors from Western countries who seek deeper and more spiritual experiences. The film effectively highlights uniquely Japanese aesthetic values such as tranquility and craftsmanship, elevating the destination’s appeal as a place worth traveling to.
We are truly honored to receive this prestigious award. This film was created with the aim of portraying Okutama itself as a complete experience.
Through a collaboration with the innovative initiative promoted by JR East and Satoyume, which envisions transforming the entire railway line into a “hotel,” the film expresses the region’s diverse resources—nature, activities, and food—through the creative world of Another Side of Japan.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who supported us in both the production and dissemination of this work.
The film conveys a clear and appealing message of discovering hidden destinations that can be reached from Tokyo. Its clear guidance within the video, relatable storytelling, and dynamic camera work made it personally very engaging—I found myself wanting to visit these places while watching it. I was particularly impressed by how it evokes an emotional response. Furthermore, the potential to expand its reach through creative dissemination strategies and by using the comment section to communicate with viewers could help turn the video into a platform for interaction with audiences overseas.
When creating this film, we decided that it should be something timeless rather than something influenced by trends.
On Yoron Island, where a strong sense of life and death is deeply embedded in everyday existence, there are elements such as the wind blowing through sugarcane fields, the swaying tail of a cow, and bones weathered by time. We sought to portray these elements gently, as if turning the pages of a picture book one by one.
The Japanese title of this work is “Nichinichi Kore Yoron.” Inspired by the Zen phrase Nichinichi Kore Kōnichi (“Every day is a good day”), the title expresses the idea of being grateful for each day and living simply as one is. Through the personification of the various forms of life on Yoron Island, the film depicts the island’s beauty and resilience as it embraces the great cycles of nature.
This work presents Yoron Island through a highly narrative visual approach, personifying various elements such as objects and living creatures to bring the island to life. Beyond sharing it through social media and tourism association channels, the project has also been displayed on airport signage and submitted to film festivals around the world, including the Singapore International Film Festival, the Africa International Tourism Film Festival, the Japan International Tourism Film Festival, and the Cinema Europa Film Festival. By utilizing these diverse channels of communication, the project has greatly contributed to raising awareness of Yoron Island in ways that differ from traditional promotional approaches. Congratulations on this well-deserved award.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported this project. Our goal with KONJAC LINEN is not simply to preserve tradition, but to bring tradition to life and allow it to evolve.
By passing down craftsmanship while connecting beyond regions and cultures to the wider world, we aim to offer more than just a T-shirt—we aim to deliver an experience that allows people to wear the story of its place of origin.
In the film, the figures of artisans who carry on tradition are interwoven with those of athletes and skaters representing the next generation, dynamically expressing the theme of “connection.” Encouraged by this award, we will continue to share the value of the KONJAC LINEN brand with the world.
This film beautifully captures the production process of KONJAC LINEN, skillfully blending traditional techniques with contemporary sensibilities. The craftsmanship of the artisans and their deep respect for the materials resonate strongly with viewers. I was deeply moved by the visual storytelling, which conveys the value of Japan’s unique traditional techniques that have been passed down for generations, as well as the connections between people and nature, and between people themselves. The challenge of transforming master craftsmanship into new forms of expression represents creativity in the service of cultural preservation. As a remarkable work that embodies the essence of cultural heritage and creativity, I believe it deserves to be seen by many people.
We are deeply honored to receive this prestigious award. The people of Shinshinotsu Village often say that they raise their rice as if it were their own child.
Inspired by this sentiment, we imagined that this “child” travels a long journey until it finally reaches the person who will eat it, proudly telling the story of its hometown. We simply tried to express this idea through the film.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Shinshinotsu Village who trusted us with this work, and to everyone who supported the production.
First of all, congratulations on receiving this award. The message, which tells the story of the journey of a single grain of rice to the dining table, was both refreshing and deeply moving. The film beautifully portrays the rich natural environment of Shinshinotsu Village and the passion embedded in every grain of rice. The direction and expression are very gentle and thoughtful. In particular, the uniquely Japanese spirituality reflected in the idea that “seven deities reside within rice” and that it requires “eighty-eight steps of care” resonates deeply when presented alongside the beautiful landscapes of the Ishikari Plain.
Furthermore, the sincere efforts supported by domestic and international certifications such as Yes!Clean and GLOBALG.A.P. create a strong sense of trust in the quality of the product. The scene in which the delicious rice variety Nanatsuboshi—still tasty even when cooled—completes its long journey and says, “I came to meet you,” conveys the deep affection of the producers. It left all of us on the judging panel with a warm and heartfelt impression.
We are deeply honored to receive such recognition. Over the past several years, together with the local community, we have worked with the hope that Toyama would reach people around the world as a travel destination, and we are truly delighted that these efforts have been acknowledged through this award.
In this film, we focused on the craftsmanship of people in the Iwase area, including the Masuda Sake Company, carefully conveying the unique charm that Toyama has to offer.
We believe that Toyama’s remarkable appeal will continue to captivate the world. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the production team and to everyone who supported this project.
This work carefully portrays the charm of Iwase in Toyama City through the stories of local artisans and chefs rooted in the community. The composition skillfully balances elements of food, traditional culture, and scenery, and the screenplay, cinematography, and editing are all of a very high standard. The calm tone of the narration harmonizes well with the story and visuals, leaving a strong positive impression.
I highly value the fact that this film provides viewers with a compelling reason to think, “I would like to visit this place.” I sincerely hope that the unique appeal of Iwase will reach audiences around the world.
We are deeply honored to receive the Excellence Award in the CJPF AWARD Movie Category.
This film reinterprets Okinawa not merely as a place to visit, but as a place where the mind can fully immerse itself. Through nature and the presence of artisans and local communities, the film depicts a psychological “dive” that transcends physical travel.
Rather than focusing only on the surface-level attractions of tourism, the work sheds light on the flow of time and the cultural depth that exist within the land itself, questioning the very value of travel.
The seven Hilton properties in Okinawa will continue to engage sincerely with the local community while carefully translating and sharing the region’s authentic appeal with the world. We hope this film will serve as an opportunity for audiences to discover a new side of Okinawa.
What impressed me most was the way the film quietly conveys the distinctive wind, light, sounds, and traditional culture of Okinawa’s islands as subtle presences. The crystal-clear sea, the depth of the forests, the rhythm of the town, and the gestures of the people are carefully woven together, creating the feeling that the viewer is traveling there themselves.
In addition to the breathtaking scenery of Zanee Beach and Yuni Beach, traditional cultural elements such as Ryukyu glass and Miyako-jofu textile are naturally incorporated, allowing viewers to experience through all five senses the depth of Okinawa, where nature and culture resonate with one another. The effective use of drone footage and slow motion beautifully expresses the flow of time in these places, gently evoking healing, inspiration, and a longing to travel. Overall, it is a highly accomplished and refined film.
It has been more than 130 years since pearl cultivation began in Japan. While the techniques have continued to evolve, they have also been faithfully passed down from generation to generation. Pearl farmers nurture pearls by communicating daily with silent Akoya oysters, while processors carefully polish each pearl before sending it out into the world. The beauty of Japan’s pearls originates from the quiet beauty found in these everyday efforts.
In this film, overseas influencers visit pearl-producing regions and share the charm of Japanese pearls as they experienced it themselves. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the many people who supported the filming, including pearl farmers in Uwajima, local government officials, guardians of the mountains, processing companies in Kobe, and the Cultured Pearl Association of America.
We will continue to share the appeal of JAPAN PEARL through future installments in this series.
“Japan Pearl 2025 Uwajima Kobe” is a film that portrays quiet luxury, traditional craftsmanship, and the commitment to protecting nature, delivering a highly contemporary message. Japanese Akoya pearls, known for their brilliant luster and delicate beauty, embody the value of quality symbolized by “Made in Japan.”
Through footage capturing the pearl cultivation process and interviews with those involved, the film carefully communicates the story behind Japanese pearls and the relationship between people and nature that supports this industry. I highly commend the work for its thoughtful portrayal of the background and values that sustain this remarkable tradition.
Project category
award results
We are deeply honored to be selected for the Grand Prize in the Project Category of the CJPF AWARD.
Since childhood, I have been exposed to Japanese content and have been greatly influenced by its creativity and values. I believe this award recognizes the achievements of Manga Productions and Manga Arabia, which have worked to bridge Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the wider world through content production and educational initiatives. Our mission has been to deliver inspiration to future generations through the power of Japanese manga, anime, and games.
Encouraged by this honor, we will continue our efforts to nurture the next generation and build connections that transcend national borders and cultures.
The initiative by Manga Productions and Manga Arabia deserves recognition for its approach of delivering Japanese manga and anime culture to the world while emphasizing the importance of freedom of expression and legitimate distribution. At the same time, the project carefully adapts to the linguistic environment, educational context, and cultural perspectives of younger generations in the Middle East.
The production and IP management structure established through collaboration between the Japanese entity and the Saudi Arabian base, as well as the partnership with the education sector utilizing officially licensed IP, clearly demonstrates the potential for cultural and industrial exchange between Japan and the Middle East.
This initiative provides valuable insights for the global expansion of Japanese content. From the perspective of a CJPF judge at the Cabinet Office—and also from my own experience working in the entertainment industry in both Japan and overseas—I see this as a highly promising model and a strong option to consider for future international expansion.
We are truly honored to receive this prestigious award.
Another Side of Japan is a project dedicated to sharing the tourism resources, cultural values, and human stories of regions across Japan that are still largely unknown to the world. Through emotionally resonant visual storytelling, we aim to deliver these narratives to audiences both in Japan and overseas.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the local communities and partners who supported this initiative. Moving forward, we will further accelerate our efforts as a professional visual content series that communicates new values of Japan to the world, contributing to sustainable tourism and regional branding.
“Another Side of Japan” is impressive in that it goes beyond the typical image of Japan as merely a tourist destination, carefully exploring local culture and the daily lives of people through refined visual storytelling.
By effectively combining both long-form and short-form content, and by adopting a communication strategy with a global perspective, the project successfully conveys Japan’s multi-layered appeal to international audiences in a natural and engaging way.
This initiative represents a compelling model for future tourism promotion and regional storytelling, skillfully integrating visual expression with a strong marketing perspective.
We are deeply honored to receive the Runner-up Grand Prize for the Tokyo Tatemono Mitsuji Temple Building project.
This project challenges the concept of a new type of urban space—an “urban temple”—where a temple, hotel, and retail spaces coexist, while preserving the historic wooden main hall dating back to the Edo period for future generations.
Through the preservation of the historic structure by relocating it three times and by creating an open temple precinct connected to the surrounding city, we have been able to provide many people—including international visitors—with opportunities to deepen their understanding of Japan’s traditional culture alongside the vibrant atmosphere of Midosuji.
We are pleased that this project has created a place that fosters new exchanges and learning within the community while connecting people’s aspirations. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to this project.
As Japan enters an era of rapid population decline, I believe that refining and elevating the many latent values that exist in Japan—and updating truly original products and experiences that cannot be easily replicated elsewhere—has the potential to become an important driver of economic growth in the 21st century.
The spiritual sensibility and refined aesthetic cultivated and passed down by previous generations have long been expressed in the spatial design of shrines and temples. Going forward, these values are likely to play an increasingly important role in fields such as wellness, mindfulness, community formation through food culture, and inbound tourism.
At the same time, however, challenges such as the declining number of parishioners are threatening the long-term sustainability of shrines and temples. There is an urgent need for strategies that both preserve and cultivate their design heritage while also generating economic value for the future. I hope that this project will serve as a foundation that contributes to both addressing these challenges and updating their economic relevance.
We are deeply honored that TaxFreeOnline.jp has received the Excellence Award in the Project Category at CJPF AWARD 2026.
Our initiative represents the first challenge in the industry to apply Japan’s unique tax-free consumption system to e-commerce. We have implemented this service through steady efforts, including obtaining the necessary approvals and patents.
Looking ahead, we aim to go beyond tax-free services and evolve into a “travel-synchronized marketplace” that connects food, crafts, fashion, culture, and travel experiences from across Japan. Through this platform, we hope to create opportunities for international visitors to discover parts of Japan they have never encountered before—and to take those experiences home with them.
As the proportion of repeat inbound visitors continues to increase, the key question becomes how to further raise spending per visitor. In this context—especially with the tax-free shopping system scheduled to shift to a refund-based model in November 2026—I highly value the initiative’s ability to offer online tax-free shopping that is convenient not only for tourists but also for domestic vendors.
The creation of a system that allows Japanese products to be introduced and sold even without physical storefronts, combined with promotion through the platform’s own social media channels, has the potential to significantly expand product offerings and increase the number of users in the future.
We are deeply honored that the “Kioke Craftsman Revival Project” has received the Excellence Award in the Project Category of CJPF AWARD 2026.
Today, it is said that less than one percent of Japanese soy sauce is produced using traditional wooden barrels (kioke). In response to this challenge, we have continued our efforts to pass down the fermentation culture and craftsmanship associated with wooden barrel production to the next generation.
This award represents the collective journey of the craftsmen who have worked together and the many supporters who have stood beside us. We renew our commitment to sharing Japan’s fermentation culture with the world and passing it on to future generations.
Congratulations on receiving the Excellence Award. After reviewing the project materials, I strongly felt that the initiative has significant potential not only within Japan but also internationally. This is partly because similar methods have already been successfully used to repurpose wine and whisky barrels, suggesting a high degree of compatibility with existing systems.
In addition, the fact that this involves Japan’s highly sophisticated traditional craftsmanship—constructed without the use of nails or adhesives—is likely to attract strong interest overseas. There are also many international examples that may serve as useful references. By incorporating effective mechanisms and learning from these cases, I hope that the traditional wooden barrel (kioke), an important part of Japan’s heritage, will become more widely recognized around the world.
We are sincerely grateful to receive the Excellence Award at the CJPF AWARD. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of the local communities and the many colleagues who work together with us every day to create meaningful cultural experiences.
Sustainable cultural experiences can only exist through the cooperation of local people—market vendors, artisans, chefs, geiko performers, and many others—who share their region’s culture, history, and craftsmanship.
Encouraged by this recognition, we will continue to work together with local communities to pursue new challenges and build forms of tourism that future generations can take pride in.
This service offers cultural tourism experiences for affluent inbound travelers. By leveraging the cultural resources of Ishikawa and Kanazawa, which are rich in diverse traditional crafts and outstanding culinary culture, the service has achieved one of the highest levels of acceptance among visitors from Europe and North America, and customer evaluations have been extremely positive.
It successfully contributes both to the preservation of regional culture and to the local economy, and can be regarded as a model case of high-value, sustainable tourism.
Overall review
CJPF Awards 2026 Minister Comments
The Cool Japan Platform Award (CJPF AWARD) is an initiative that supports those leading the promotion of Cool Japan by recognizing outstanding videos and projects that effectively communicate Japan’s appeal to the world. Through this award, the government, local authorities, and private-sector organizations work together to advance the Cool Japan strategy and encourage the continued efforts of those involved in sharing Japan’s attractions internationally.
This year, we received a large number of applications, with 100 entries in the Project Category and 237 entries in the Movie Category. After careful review, 14 works, including three Grand Prize winners, were selected as award recipients. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who submitted their work, as well as to all those who contributed to this initiative, including the members of the judging panel.
The Grand Prize winner in the Project Category, “A Cultural Exchange Project to Co-Create Japanese Content and Deliver It Strategically to the World,” has made a significant contribution to expanding the global recognition of Japanese content. By partnering with multiple Japanese publishers, the project distributes official Arabic-language editions of Japanese anime and manga widely across the Middle East. Through the development of legitimate distribution and publishing networks, the initiative has also achieved meaningful progress in discouraging piracy. Furthermore, by collaborating with Japanese production companies to create new content, it represents a new model of cooperation in which Japan and the Middle East work together to create and disseminate cultural content.
In the Movie Category, the Grand Prize-winning film “Discover Oita’s Hidden Gems: The Art Edition” beautifully portrays the diverse attractions of regional Japanese culture—including traditional crafts, contemporary art, history, and local festivals—through refined visual storytelling, bringing new value and depth to Oita Prefecture’s tourism resources. Another Grand Prize-winning work, “TOKYO | Okutama: Your Gateway to Forest Calm, Healing Retreats, and Exciting Adventures,” stands out not only for its visual beauty but also for its effective communication of experiences and ways to enjoy the nature and culture of Okutama. By presenting information clearly through captions tailored to its target audience, it achieves a high level of completeness as a model format for tourism communication.
The award-winning works, including the Grand Prize recipients, will be widely promoted both domestically and internationally through the website of the Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform (CJPF) and in cooperation with relevant government ministries and agencies, as well as through Japanese diplomatic missions overseas.
Moving forward, we will continue to promote the Cool Japan Strategy with strong collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Judges
Message from the Chair of the Judging Committee for the Video Category
This year, we received 237 submissions, and had the opportunity to encounter many outstanding works that demonstrated remarkable creativity in expressing the essence of Japan. Each piece stood out with its own distinctive character—featuring emotional perspectives and expressions rich in humor—while beautifully portraying the history, culture, nature, and traditions of various regions across Japan, all of which are resources we proudly share with the world.
In this year’s judging process, in addition to the appeal of the visual expression itself, we placed particular emphasis on the thoughtful devices and careful considerations designed to attract and engage viewers. We engaged in in-depth discussions on whether each work could truly resonate with the sensibilities of its intended audience.
We hope that the films shared through this initiative will go beyond simply introducing Japan, and that this award will serve as a catalyst for new forms of communication and deeper empathy toward Japan to spread among audiences around the world.
Message from the Chair of the Judging Committee for the Project Category
This year’s award-winning works were particularly distinguished by their focus on building sustainable systems, incorporating elements such as social implementation and the development of the next generation.
Among the Grand Prize recipients, the manga cultural exchange project with Saudi Arabia exemplifies cross-border co-creation, while initiatives such as the coexistence of temples and hotels, and the training of traditional wooden barrel (kioke) craftsmen, were highly recognized for their successful fusion of tradition and innovation. In addition, strategic initiatives were observed in efforts such as the development of tax-free e-commerce platforms for inbound visitors and the use of regional attractions as visual IP, redefining cultural resources to meet contemporary needs.
These initiatives do not simply promote Japan’s unique values in a one-sided manner. Rather, they emphasize two-way exchange and contributions to local communities, symbolizing how the Cool Japan Strategy is evolving into a new stage centered on experience and dialogue.
I would like to express my sincere respect and appreciation to all the award-winning projects.
Organizer and Supporters
Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform (CJPF)
The CJPF, which is administered by the Cabinet Office’s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, was established in December 2015 to pursue the Cool Japan Strategy via collaborative efforts that bring together the public and private sectors as well as numerous industries. Currently, CJPF members include many government agencies and organizations, and private-sector companies, organizations, institutions and individuals. All members provide support for information sharing and new business-project creation.
Agency for Cultural Affairs／Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries／Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry／Japan Tourism Agency／Ministry of the Environment／Cool Japan Fund Inc.／Japan National Tourism Organization.（JNTO）／The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry／The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Cabinet Office Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters
We are deeply honored to receive such a prestigious award and would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved. The title “Discover Oita’s Hidden Gems” reflects our strong desire for people around the world to discover the yet-unseen attractions and hidden treasures that Oita Prefecture has to offer.
Through this video, we aimed to carefully portray the profound cultural richness created by the diverse arts and history that thrive in Oita. Taking this award as an opportunity, we will further strengthen our promotional efforts so that the appeal of Oita reaches travelers both in Japan and around the world, and encourages them to visit in person.