Economic impact of up-coming Ieyasu Taiga drama on Aichi region estimated at 39.3 bil. yen, study

The up-coming airing of NHK's latest historical Taiga drama in January could generate an economic ripple effect worth an estimated 39.3 billion yen in 2023 in Aichi Prefecture, birthplace of the drama’s central character Tokugawa Ieyasu, according to a recent study.

The study, conducted by the Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau and Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd., looked at the potential economic ripple effect on Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City resulting from the drama "Dosuru Ieyasu" (What to do, Ieyasu) and other related events, which is scheduled to air from January 8.  

According to the study findings, published in December, the “direct” economic effect through tourist spending in Aichi Prefecture is estimated to be around 25.5 billion yen in 2023, of which approximately 9.9 billion yen would be generated in Nagoya City, due to the increase in visitors to the region that the drama is estimated to bring. 

The additional indirect economic ripple effect of the drama’s airing - resulting from an increase in household spending, job creation, and increased industrial output, among others - is estimated to be 13.8 billion yen in Aichi Prefecture, of which 4.1 billion yen would be in Nagoya City, according to the study. 

The number of day trippers visiting Aichi Prefecture from outside the region in 2023 is estimated to increase by 15.7 percent compared to data from 2019, bringing the number of visitors in 2023 to around 39.3 million, up from around 33.9 million. 

Overnight visitors to Aichi Prefecture are estimated to increase by 7.0 percent, from around 2.7 million in 2019 to around 2.9 million in 2023, according to the study. 

Findings of the study were generated from related statistics targeting prefectures which were the setting for major historical television dramas aired between 2011 and 2018. The study’s estimates did not take into account any potential effect on tourism resulting from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to the Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau and Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd.

"Dosuru Ieyasu" will be the 62nd of public broadcaster NHK’s annual, yearlong period dramas, more commonly known as “Taiga drama” in Japan. The series will depict the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, making it the first Taiga drama in 40 years to feature Ieyasu as the sole lead.

Jun Matsumoto, a member of popular Japanese boy band Arashi, plays the role of Ieyasu. Matsumoto’s announcement as the drama’s lead came shortly after Arashi went on hiatus at the start of 2021.

Aichi Prefecture is the birthplace of many of Japan’s legendary military commanders, including Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu himself, and is home to a number of related historical sites and battlefields. The prefecture has been carrying out tourism promotions as the “birthplace of Japan’s military commanders” since 2014.  

In February 2022, the Aichi Prefecture Historical Drama “Dosuru Ieyasu” Tourism Promotion Council was established to take advantage of the airing of the drama by spreading information about places associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu and Aichi Prefecture as the hometown of the military commanders.  

Speaking during a visit to the prefecture by Matsumoto in April 2022, Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, who serves as an advisor to the council, said that it was the first time for such a council to be formed.

“The local community has high hopes for the project,” he said.  

In October the council began distributing the "Aichi Ieyasu Sengoku Emaki" (Aichi Ieyasu Sengoku Picture Scroll), a guide to the region’s history of military commanders and related points of interest, which includes contributions from researchers for the Taiga drama.

The airing of “Dosuru Ieyasu” looks set to be the latest in a number of events that have put a spotlight on the Aichi region over the winter. November 1 saw the much-anticipated first phase of the opening of the Ghibli Park in Nagakute. Later the same month the Aichi Prefecture marked the 150th anniversary of its establishment (in its present form) in 1872.