Yoshimoto Turns to Digital Securities for IP Finance: What Comes After the Production Committee

The deal in outline

On October 14, 2026, SBI Holdings and Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings announced a basic agreement on a strategic alliance in entertainment. At its centre is a planned joint venture that will develop original IP for global markets and invest in it. On the financing side, the partners intend to use SBI Group's ST platform and its on-chain finance expertise to create new ways of raising money for IP and content.

The announcement also included SBI Neo Content Investment Limited Partnership, a fund of around JPY 100 billion. It will invest in film and video, live entertainment, sports and digital content, and Yoshimoto plans to invest in it as well. Yoshimoto represents around 6,000 performers and athletes and will contribute production capabilities across variety shows, film, anime, games, VTubers and vertical short dramas. SBI will draw on its networks in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere to take show formats, performances and merchandise overseas.

Why digital securities

Japanese film and anime production has long been financed through "production committees", in which several companies invest and share the risk. The stakes, however, are not traded, and there has been almost no room for general investors. Digital securities make it possible to split the rights to income from a work or IP into small units, sell them to a broad investor base including individuals, and provide a route for trading after issuance.

There is precedent. In July 2024, a plan was announced to tokenize stakes in the production committee of the film "Takarajima" and sell them in small units through Phillip Securities. The design combined dividends with "fan perks" such as bonus footage and screening invitations. In March 2026, SBI issued the JPY 10 billion "SBI START Bond" on BOOSTRY's "ibet for Fin" and made it tradable on START, the PTS run by Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX). SBI's strength is that it already owns the infrastructure from issuance to secondary trading.

Market and policy tailwinds

According to Progmat's "Digital Securities Market Outlook 2026", outstanding digital securities in Japan reached about JPY 583.1 billion across 75 deals by the end of 2025. Real estate dominates, and content is still a very small segment. On the policy side, a June 2025 Cabinet decision set a target of JPY 20 trillion in overseas sales of Japanese content by 2033. In March 2026, METI presented a draft plan with goals including JPY 33.3 trillion in private investment. Funding for IP has become a national priority.

Open questions

The joint venture's name, ownership split and incorporation date have not been disclosed, nor have the ST platform, the chain or the first works to be financed. Unlike rental income from real estate, content revenue is volatile and depends heavily on whether a work becomes a hit. That makes clear disclosure to retail investors and transparent revenue distribution decisive for product design.

Business Development Insights

1. Tokenizing IP can raise capital and build a fan base at the same time. Combining dividends with experiential perks can be applied not only to entertainment companies but also to sports clubs and regional tourism assets.
2. Tokenizing assets other than real estate requires specialist work on revenue estimates and rights. Services that support IP valuation, rights clearance and distribution calculations are still an under-served area.
3. Pairing a JPY 100 billion fund with digital securities suggests a two-tier structure that brings institutional and retail money into the same IP. Governance that reconciles the two groups' interests will become a source of differentiation.

Sources

SBI Holdings news release (Oct 14, 2026) https://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2026/1014_16660.html SBI Holdings presentation PDF https://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/pdf/2026/1014_a.pdf Atarashii Keizai (NEW ECONOMY) https://www.neweconomy.jp/posts/616840 CoinPost https://coinpost.jp/?p=742891 Digital Today https://www.digitaltoday.co.kr/en/view/114747/sbi-yoshimoto-plan-joint-venture-to-add-fintech-to-japan-content koubo.jp (SBI START Bond) https://koubo.jp/article/57281 ScanNetSecurity ("Takarajima" ST) https://scan.netsecurity.ne.jp/article/2024/07/25/51361.html CoinPost (Progmat Digital Securities Market Outlook 2026) https://coinpost.jp/?p=678452 AdverTimes (content policy) https://www.advertimes.com/?p=539422