The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is providing DeNA with a total of ¥1.5 billion in subsidies for smartphone game development—an article published by Nikkei Online on June 26 sparked criticism on X, with comments such as, “Do cash-rich companies need support?”
In response to the reaction, MIXI President Koki Kimura defended DeNA, saying, “At most ¥1.5 billion.” His remarks have also drawn criticism, but he continues to rebut by presenting, among other things, content investment figures for various countries, developing into a debate over how the government should support the content industry.
Excerpt from METI’s “IP360” program menu. Support for large-scale production is capped at ¥1.5 billion per company, etc.
The reported support appears to be part of the “IP360” subsidy (Content Industry Growth Investment Promotion Program), for which METI began accepting applications in March 2026 and began announcing selection results on June 25.
The program consists of nine components, including support for new IP creation by startups (up to ¥10 million per entity), support for large-scale production (up to ¥1.5 billion per entity), and support for expanding distribution platforms (up to ¥3 billion per entity), with a total budget of approximately ¥35 billion.
DeNA’s “IP360” selection results
The Nikkei article focuses on DeNA among the many companies selected. On X, criticism poured in, including, “Why should tax money be used to support one company’s smartphone game development?” and “Is there any need to inject public funds into a cash-rich company that can carry out large-scale share buybacks?”
MIXI President: “At Most ¥1.5 Billion” “Semiconductors Receive Trillions”
In response, Koki Kimura of MIXI, which, like DeNA, makes smartphone games its main arena, posted on his own X account on June 27: “There seem to be a lot of people with an allergic reaction opposing it... no, they say there are ‘only a few.’”
He added: “At most ¥1.5 billion. Even if you hand over a small amount of money like this, it is practically nothing compared with the national content budgets other countries are pouring in.” He also wrote: “If citizens pull the brakes by complaining about taxes, nothing will ever get started.”
This prompted further backlash, including remarks such as, “How can you say ‘at most’ when it comes to blood taxes?” Kimura cited METI materials to show content support figures for various countries and appealed, “I want as many people as possible to understand the dire situation of our industry.”
He further questioned: “If we are talking about semiconductors, there are subsidies on the scale of several trillions of yen, so why is content being attacked?”
