Japan ruling party lawmakers form group to promote trading card industry
Japanese lawmakers have formed a group to regulate and promote the domestic trading card industry, which has seen massive growth. The initiative aims to combat issues like counterfeiting and fraud while supporting the global expansion of Japanese pop-culture brands.
Why it matters
As trading cards become high-value assets, government intervention is becoming necessary to protect consumers and maintain market integrity.
TOKYO - Lawmakers from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party have launched a group aimed at promoting the rapidly growing trading card industry, seeing its potential as a globally competitive content sector.
The group, consisting of some 20 lawmakers, is seeking to improve the trading card environment by setting up rules to address issues such as counterfeit cards and bulk purchases for resale. The group is also keen to enhance market transparency to support the industry's overseas expansion.
The popularity of trading cards featuring characters from popular Japanese game, anime and manga series such as "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" has expanded beyond Japan to international fans in recent years.
At its inaugural meeting held in parliament in late July, House of Representatives member Seiji Kihara, who was named the group's chairman, said that the trading card industry "can compete globally," stressing the importance of fostering a "healthy market."
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