Media City Qatar Japan Roadshow To Attract Gaming, Content Creation Industry Executives to Qatar

Media City Qatar has successfully held a strategic roadshow spanning from Osaka to Tokyo in Japan, engaging top leaders across media, gaming, and creative sectors to scale their businesses in the Middle East through Media City Qatar.

The visit was designed to attract Japanese companies to Qatar by offering insight into the country’s growing media ecosystem, world-class infrastructure, and tailored business incentives.

Led by Engineer Jassim Mohamed al-Khori, CEO of Media City Qatar, the delegation engaged directly with top-level executives, government officials, and creative pioneers throughout the roadshow.

From high-profile meetings with organisations, such as SEGA, Nintendo, and Sony Interactive Entertainment to curated forums and events, the roadshow was designed to build long-term partnerships and present Media City Qatar as the ideal base for Japanese creative companies looking to scale, with Doha positioned as a central gateway between East and West.

The first stop was Osaka, where Media City Qatar hosted a dedicated event on the sidelines of a gaming festival organised by the Japanese Esports Union (JESU). 

Using the Qatar Pavilion at the Expo 2025 Osaka platform, the event convened leaders and officials from Japan’s gaming industry to explore new pathways for growth and collaboration. The delegation outlined their vision of Media City Qatar as a next-generation media hub.

Further, Naohiro Kaji from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also shared insights on the country’s national strategy to boost the global export of Japanese creative content, including gaming and digital media, while Media City Qatar’s Business Development leads presented success stories from existing partnerships and introduced a suite of exclusive incentives available to Japanese companies seeking expansion opportunities into the Middle East through Qatar.

In Tokyo, Media City Qatar hosted a landmark forum, held in the presence of Qatar’s ambassador to Japan Jaber Jaralla al-Marri, and attended by more than 450 industry professionals, government officials, ambassadors, content creators and gaming industry leaders.

The event served as a platform to explore how Japanese intellectual property can succeed on a global scale with the support of international partners. Al-Khori delivered the keynote address, highlighting Media City Qatar’s offerings, infrastructure and support mechanisms that make Qatar a compelling base for international creators.

Other notable moments at the forum included panel discussions with Eiko Mizuno, co-producer of several Qatar-Japan projects; Keishi Otomo, one of Japan’s most renowned film directors; and Akira Morii, producer of a Netflix series. This was followed by a conversation with Ken Kutaragi, known as the “father of PlayStation.”

Another panel featured Masato Inui, general director of Ninja Warriors, alongside Shinichiro Tamaki, developer of the Wii game console.

The event included a conversation with Nao Udagawa, president of Bandai Namco, who spoke about the global future of Japanese entertainment. Lastly, Thair Khaled al-Anani later took part in a fireside conversation, where he highlighted Media City Qatar’s impact on current licensed companies and detailed the tailored incentives designed to support Japanese companies exploring opportunities in Qatar.

Following Expo 2025 Osaka, a significant opportunity has arisen to strengthen ties with Japan’s most dynamic gaming and content creation businesses.

Japan’s content exports of books, magazines, films and television now exceed those of semiconductors and steel and rank second only to automobiles. The updated Cool Japan Strategy aims to more than triple these exports by 2033.

Qatar’s strategic location between East and West positions it as a key gateway for Japanese companies in gaming animation and production seeking to expand globally.

With more than 250 licensed companies, Media City Qatar provides the infrastructure, incentives, and platform to support innovation and collaboration, helping shape the future of media from Qatar, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.