Japan Expo Down 20% in 2025: Lessons for Regional Conventions
Analysis of Japan Expo's attendance drop and what it means for manga convention organizers in France.
Key points of the article
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- ✓Japan-Expo
200,000 visitors. That's Japan Expo 2025's result, versus 255,000 in 2024. A 20% drop that's making waves in the manga convention world.
Organizers cite the Paris Olympics, political uncertainty, inflation. It's probably true. But beyond circumstances, there are lessons for everyone organizing Japanese culture events.
The State of the Manga Market in France
Let's start with numbers. According to GfK, 36 million mangas were sold in France in 2025. That's down 9% from 2024, for revenues of 309 million euros.
Manga still represents one in two comics sold in France. But after the post-Covid explosion, the market is normalizing. And it shows in conventions.
Japan Expo remains the behemoth with its 140,000 m² of exhibition space, 847 exhibitors, and 600 events scheduled over 4 days. But the "always bigger" model is showing its limits.
What Japan Expo Does Well
Before criticizing, let's acknowledge successes.
Scale. 847 exhibitors is an offer no other event in France can match. For a fan who wants to see "everything that exists" in goodies, limited editions, and imports, Japan Expo remains unmissable.
Guests. Mangakas, Japanese voice actors, international cosplayers... Japan Expo's guest budget exceeds all regional conventions combined.
Legitimacy. After 20+ editions, Japan Expo has acquired recognition that reassures exhibitors and visitors.
What Regional Conventions Can Learn
1. Size Isn't Everything
200,000 visitors over 4 days means 50,000 per day on average. With peaks Saturday and Sunday. Result: queues everywhere, inaccessible stands, accumulated fatigue.
A well-organized 3,000 to 5,000 visitor convention can offer a better experience. Less waiting, more exchanges with artists, a more friendly atmosphere.
The mistake would be wanting to grow too fast. Toulouse Game Show went from nothing to 40,000 visitors in a few years. But they kept a human scale that people like.
2. Specialize
Japan Expo tries to do everything: manga, anime, video games, Japanese music, gastronomy, martial arts, cosplay...
A regional convention benefits from specializing. Mangaka Market focuses on independent artists and Artist Alley. Comic Con Paris bets on Anglo-Saxon pop culture as much as Japanese.
Find your niche. A 100% shonen convention. A cosplay-dedicated event. A vintage 80s-90s japanimation festival.
3. Artist Alley Is Your Asset
Big publishers (Glénat, Pika, Ki-oon) won't come to your 2,000-person convention. But independent artists are looking for human-scale events.
An Artist Alley booth at Japan Expo costs between 150 and 300€ for a weekend. For that price, the artist gets lost among 200 others. At a regional convention, visibility is much better.
Pamper your artists. Proper locations, sufficient lighting, reasonable opening hours. They're what brings visitors back year after year.
Mistakes to Absolutely Avoid
Poorly Managed Cosplay
Cosplay is a major attraction. But it's also a logistical headache.
Cosplayers arrive with bulky costumes, need changing rooms, mirrors for makeup, spaces to pose. If you don't plan these facilities, you'll have frustrated cosplayers who won't come back.
And the prop weapons question. Japan Expo has a strict protocol: entrance control, plastic ties on weapons. You need yours.
Air Conditioning
July at Villepinte Exhibition Center. 30°C outside. Thousands of people packed in. Cosplayers in armor.
Air conditioning isn't a luxury, it's mandatory. I've seen conventions where visitors fainted from heat. Guaranteed atmosphere.
Last-Minute Communication
Manga/anime fans are on Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok. They follow announcements, leaks, rumors.
If you announce your guests 2 weeks before the event, it's too late. Japan Expo communicates its headliners 3 to 6 months ahead. Early bird tickets sell on that basis.
Realistic Budget for a 3,000-Visitor Convention
Estimated revenues:
Expenses:
Potential margin: 26,000€ (43%)
These figures are optimistic but achievable. The key: controlled fixed costs and tickets selling well before D-day.
What Brings Visitors Back
I've talked with convention regulars. What they remember:
Meetings. "I got to talk 10 minutes with an artist I admire." That doesn't happen at Japan Expo where signing queues are 2 hours.
Atmosphere. "We felt among ourselves." The family feel of a regional convention creates emotional attachment.
Surprises. "I discovered an artist I didn't know." At a human-scale event, you stroll, you stop, you chat.
Adapted Digitalization
No need for a mobile app with 50 features.
What's essential:
What's superfluous for a small event:
Reasonable investment: 2,000 to 5,000€ for digital tools, no more.
Conclusion: Smaller Can Be Better
Japan Expo's 2025 decline isn't bad news for regional conventions. On the contrary.
Manga fans are looking for less exhausting, cheaper, more accessible alternatives. A convention 2 hours from home rather than Paris in July.
The manga market is mature. There's room for niche, well-organized events with real identity. The key is not trying to copy Japan Expo in smaller form, but offering something different.
Japan Expo's 847 exhibitors won't come to you. But the 50 independent artists who feel lost there might well become the heart of your event.
Sources: Japan Expo 2025 Report (Jeuxactu), GfK Manga Market Data 2025
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