Japans Indie Film Financier K2 Pictures Wins Support From Major State-Backed Bank (Exclusive)

The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) has become the latest major investor to back Tokyo-based K2 Pictures’ pioneering new film production fund, signaling growing institutional confidence in the company’s bid to shake up Japan’s long-stagnant film financing system.

K2 Pictures said Friday that it has secured a ¥500 million ($3.3 million) investment from DBJ for its flagship K2P Film Fund I, adding momentum to the year-old venture’s effort to create what founder and CEO Muneyuki Kii calls “a new ecosystem for Japanese cinema.”

The deal follows earlier backing from Japanese megabank MUFG, which joined the fund this summer in what analysts described as an unprecedented show of support for an independent film venture. K2’s growing list of blue-chip partners is a powerful vote of confidence — even if the investment sums from these entities have been modest — underscoring how even the country’s conservative financial sector is beginning to view the startup’s approach to the movie business as a viable investment category.

In a Japanese film landscape dominated by conglomerate franchises and anime blockbusters, K2’s fund is positioning itself as a rare, creator-friendly bridge between independent film and capital.

Founded in 2023, K2 Pictures is the brainchild of Kii — a 25-year veteran of Toei and producer of hit anime titles such as Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, The First Slam Dunk and Shin Kamen Rider — who launched the venture to shake up Japan’s notoriously risk-averse “production committee” model. Under that traditional system, films are co-financed by sprawling consortiums of studios, broadcasters and publishers, a process critics say stifles creative autonomy and limits profit participation for filmmakers.

K2’s alternative structure seeks to attract both domestic and international investors through a transparent profit-sharing model that returns a portion of revenues directly to creators, lowering middleman fees and aligning incentives across production and financing. The fund has backed its first feature, Mag Mag, a comedy directed by popular Japanese comedian Yuriyan Retriever, slated for release in February 2026.

At its launch during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, K2 Pictures revealed an ambitious creative alliance with some of Japan’s most celebrated filmmakers — including Hirokazu Kore-eda, Takashi Miike, Shunji Iwai, Miwa Nishikawa and Kazuya Shiraishi — as well as anime powerhouse MAPPA, the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Attack on Titan. All of the partners expressed intentions to work with the startup company on future projects.

“In launching this fund, we aimed to present a new financing option for the Japanese film industry,” Kii said in a statement. “We spent valuable time preparing, and consulted thoroughly with a broad group of investors. We are delighted that the Development Bank of Japan, a government-affiliated financial institution, recognized the value of our initiative and agreed to participate. Entertainment and finance are often perceived as distant fields, and indeed, this has been the case. However, to compete globally, a strong connection between the two is essential.”

DBJ added: “We deeply resonate with K2 Pictures’ vision to globalize Japan’s film industry. We are also impressed by their approach to innovating film production and financing methods by engaging a wide range of players, including those in related industries. We are delighted to join them in this endeavor.”