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Japanese broadcasters will pitch nine TV dramas to buyers from across Latin America at MIP Cancun on Nov. 18, looking to secure remake deals, sales of the completed series and co-production partners in the region.
The
Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ) is producing the 30-minute presentation, titled “Japan Session 2026: The Next Latam Hit Series from Japan.”
The session is one part of a larger “All Japan” presence at the market, which groups 10 Japanese broadcasters under the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association (JBA). Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) is cooperating on the effort.
Each of the nine broadcasters taking part chose one drama for Latin American buyers. Nicolás Smirnoff, an executive at Editorial Prensario and a FRAPA board member, will introduce the trailers in Spanish. The session is pitched around how each story could be adapted locally or co-produced, and buyers interested in a title will be steered to the rights holders at the Japan Pavilion, which the JBA is running, and through networking sessions.
Nippon Television Network Corp. is bringing “Punch-Drunk Woman,” while Tokyo Broadcasting System Television is presenting “Reboot” and Fuji Television Network has “kiDnap Game.” TV Asahi Corp. has selected “7 Secretaries” and TV Tokyo Corp. “Until I Destroyed My Husband’s Other Family.”
The remaining titles are Yomiuri Telecasting Corp.’s “Black Familia,” Tokai Television Broadcasting’s “Love and Hatred,” MBS’s “The Yakuza Boss’s Beloved” and Wowow’s “The Man of 0.5.”
“Latin America has a rich tradition of telenovelas, and we see significant potential for Japanese dramas with distinctive storytelling and original concepts,” said Sugiyama Makito, BEAJ’s executive director and the session’s executive producer. “By encouraging remakes and international co-productions, we hope to help Japanese content reach wider audiences in the region and create new business opportunities for the participating broadcasters.”
Smirnoff, who specializes in the Latin American audiovisual business, also represents Prensario International.
MIP Cancun is built around pre-booked meetings between buyers and sellers, with a focus on Latin America and Hispanic audiences in the U.S. For Japan’s broadcasters, the session is an attempt to bring stories first made for Japanese television into a region with deep telenovela roots.
