On June 29, 2026, Korean media outlet Seoul Economic Daily reported that Japan's "Cool Japan" policy, which the Japanese government has promoted using "Hallyu" as a model, has accumulated a deficit of 54 billion yen, and the very survival of the project is in an uncertain situation.

The article cited Japanese media reports, stating that the accumulated losses of the "Overseas Demand Development Support Organization (Cool Japan Fund)," which implements the "Cool Japan" policy, reached 54 billion yen by the 2025 fiscal year. Regarding the organization, it was explained that "it was established to support the growth strategy put forth by the Second Abe Cabinet, which made spreading Japanese cultural content such as anime, gourmet food, tourism, games, and fashion overseas and strengthening industrial competitiveness its main pillars of growth strategy," and "it is said to have referenced the 'Hallyu' strategy, where South Korea boosted its national brand power through dramas and music." It was said that its aim was "for the government to invest funds in areas where private investment is difficult, and to attract private investment," and at the time of its establishment, the Japanese government bore approximately 90% of the total investment of 151.3 billion yen.

However, the performance of the invested companies stagnated, and securing new investment targets was difficult, leading to the very raison d'être of the organization being questioned. The Japanese government plans to establish an expert panel after July to determine the future direction of the organization. Within the government, there are views that "abolition is unavoidable."

Japanese media pointed out that "while Hallyu grew based on the content competitiveness of private companies and a global fandom, Cool Japan, as a result of relying on government-led investment, failed to build market sensibility or a sustainable business model." They reported that "Japan's challenge stands at a major crossroads more than 10 years after its inception."

In response to this article, Korean netizens commented with statements such as: "Do they really think they'll succeed by insisting something that isn't cool is 'Cool Japan'?", "Japan should probably go with the concept of 'Otaku Japan'," "(Japanese people) can't even speak English properly, so it's impossible, right?", "If the government had intervened in Hallyu, it would surely have failed. Korea can do everything well except politics.", "They criticized Hallyu as a national policy, and then they tried to do it as a national policy themselves and lost a lot of money?", and "Korea has also failed numerous times by imitating Japan and the U.S." (Translation/Editing: Asae)