Itochu Taps Taiwan's Bibian to Monetize Overlooked Anime Merchandise Globally

The era of only blockbuster anime dominating the global market may be coming to a close. Japanese trading giant Itochu is rolling out a new strategy to monetize a vast catalog of lesser-known titles by boosting their overseas merchandise sales.

On December 25, 2025, Nikkei reported that Itochu plans to connect Bibian, a Taiwan-based cross-border e-commerce site, with Japanese intellectual property (IP) management companies and publishers. Bibian functions as a proxy service, which allows customers in Taiwan to purchase goods from Japanese marketplaces.

Beyond Taiwan to Global Markets

While the initiative will launch in Taiwan, Itochu's ambitions don't stop there; the company plans to expand the model to other countries and regions. This move offers a fresh solution for Japanese anime and manga creators, many of whom have struggled to effectively tap the global goods market. It's a shift from focusing solely on a few major hits to finding revenue opportunities across a much wider portfolio of content.