Filming in Tokyo: Permits, Studios & Production Logistics
From ward-level (区) permit offices and Toho stages to Shibuya crossings, cherry-blossom blackouts and typhoon-season planning — what international productions need to plan a shoot in Tokyo
Here is how this works in practice. Filming in Tokyo — 撮影 東京 — is one of the most rewarding and most with care sequenced production operations in Asia. The city pairs an extraordinarily organised studio belt and a deep, disciplined crew base with a permit landscape that does not centralise the way Paris or London does. Instead, each shoot in Tokyo is set up across the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office, the relevant ward-level (区) permit office, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for any traffic or crowd impact, and JR East and the private rail operators when stations or trains are in shot. Layer onto that a calendar with two non-negotiable seasonal pressure points — cherry blossom (sakura) season in late March to early April and typhoon season from June through October — plus a working language that is overwhelmingly Japanese in each government office. You have a city that rewards advance planning and punishes improvisation. This guide walks through what global teams actually need to know to plan a production in Tokyo: which permit office handles which neighbourhood. This studios match which formats, which districts deliver which looks, when to shoot, what the realistic incentive picture looks like, and how lead times shape the schedule. Use it as a hub — each section links out to a deeper guide for the area you need to plan around.
As Fixers in Japan, we bring local expertise to international productions filming in Japan. Our team's deep knowledge of local regulations, crew networks, and production infrastructure ensures your project runs smoothly from pre-production through delivery.
ACT 01
Why Tokyo for Production
Industry Discipline, Studio Infrastructure, and the Looks Producers Come For
Here is the short of it. Tokyo is the operational centre of Japanese audiovisual production and the default first call for any inbound production with a Japanese need. The reasons global teams keep choosing the city for filming in Tokyo go well beyond the postcards — it is one of the few global cities that combines a studio-grade crew base, a dense permit network at the ward level (区), and a visual register that runs from neon-saturated modern to imperial-era heritage inside a single shooting day.
- Japan produces 600+ feature films and several hundred drama series a year, with the majority crewed and funded out of Tokyo
- Toho, Shochiku and Nikkatsu studios sit within the metropolitan area or one short rail journey away
- Crew rosters are deep across camera, lighting, art department, sound and production support. English fluency is improving but still a constraint at non-HOD level
- Shibuya Crossing, Shinjuku neon, Asakusa heritage, Tokyo Bay waterfront and Imperial Palace gardens all sit inside one shooting day
Industry Depth and the Tokyo Production Ecosystem
Here is how the work shapes up. Tokyo film production runs on an unusually structured ecosystem. The Japan Film Commission (JFC) and Japan Film Partner's Unijapan (JFPU) handle global promotion and inbound planning. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office sits inside the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs and acts as the city-wide liaison for global shoots. Below that, the 23 ward-level (区) permit offices each handle filming applications for streets, parks, public buildings and ward-managed facilities within their own boundaries. Shibuya-ku for Shibuya Crossing, Shinjuku-ku for Shinjuku and Kabukicho, Taito-ku for Asakusa and Senso-ji ways, Minato-ku for Roppongi and most of the embassy district, Chuo-ku for Ginza. Major TV networks (NHK, Fuji, TBS, NTV, TV Asahi) and global streamers (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Apple) all have Tokyo-based commissioning and physical production teams. Productions including Lost in Translation, Tokyo Vice, Drive My Car, FX's Shogun, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Wolverine have all routed work through this network in recent years.
Studio and Stage Infrastructure
Here is how it adds up. The greater Tokyo studio belt. Toho Studios in Seijo (Setagaya-ku), Shochiku Ofuna in nearby Kanagawa, Nikkatsu Chofu Studios west of central Tokyo, plus the Toei studios in Oizumi — gives the metropolitan area more than 30 soundstages within roughly 60 minutes of central Tokyo by road. Combined with the rental stages clustered around the Tama river corridor, Tokyo can host studio-scale global shoots without forcing talent and creative leads out to a regional base. Backlot space, water tanks, motion-control rigs and a growing number of LED-volume virtual production stages are all ready within the metropolitan radius, with Toho operating the largest single-site complex.
Crew, Talent, and the Language Reality
Here is the run-down. Tokyo crews are deep across each department and famously disciplined on set — call times are kept to the minute, on-set hierarchy is respected in a way that is materially different from European or North American workflows, and the day runs to a published schedule rather than a flex envelope. English fluency is now standard at heads-of-department level on shoots that often take global work. But it thins out fast below that. Most inbound shoots plan for one or two on-set translators per unit and expect the line producer to act as the bridge between the global director and the Japanese departments. This is not a friction to be designed away — it is the working reality of a Tokyo shoot. The city's organisation absorbs it without losing time.
Signature Visual Looks
The visual reasons producers come to Tokyo are well-known: Shibuya Crossing for the modern urban-density beat that has anchored everything from Lost in Translation to Resident Evil. Shinjuku's Kabukicho and Golden Gai for neon-noir. Asakusa. The Senso-ji way for traditional and pre-war Japan. The Imperial Palace gardens and Marunouchi for restrained imperial-era register. Tokyo Bay and Odaiba for the waterfront-meets-skyline sequences. Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Tower line for modern luxury. And the western residential wards (Setagaya, Suginami) for the quiet domestic register that anchors a large share of modern drama. Each of these is briefed in detail below, with guidance on how Tokyo permit and access workflows actually clear them.
ACT 02
Filming Permits in Tokyo — 撮影許可 東京
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office, Ward (区) Offices and Police Coordination
Here is the breakdown. Tokyo's permit landscape does not centralise the way Paris's Mission Cinéma or New York's MOFTB does. Instead, each shoot is set up across the metropolitan film office, the relevant ward-level (区) office, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. This section gives you the operational summary — for the full step-by-step on records, fees and edge cases, see our deep-dive guide.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office is the city-wide coordinator and the right first contact for inbound shoots
- 23 ward-level (区) permit offices handle filming applications for streets, parks and ward-managed facilities within their boundaries
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department handles traffic stops, road closures, security perimeters, drone clearance and any pyrotechnic or stunt activity
- JR East, Tokyo Metro and the private rail operators each issue their own permits for stations and trains, with separate lead times
- Heritage and religious sites — Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, the Imperial Palace inner perimeter — are ruled by their own administrations
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office and JFC Coordination
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office is the right first contact for any inbound production planning a Tokyo shoot. They do not directly issue most ward-level permits. But they set up across the ward offices, the police department and the prefectural authorities, and they issue the letters of support that smooth the ward-level applications. For global shoots, the JFC and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office often work together. JFC handling national-level introductions and prefectural support fund mapping, the Tokyo office handling the within-Tokyo planning. Treat this as a single conversation that starts six to eight weeks before principal photography, not as two separate touchpoints.
Ward-Level (区) Permit Offices — Where Most Permits Actually Live
Each of Tokyo's 23 wards (区, ku) operates its own filming permit office for streets, public spaces and ward-managed facilities within its boundaries. The implications are major: a single shooting day that crosses Shibuya Crossing, walks east into Minato-ku for Roppongi exteriors and then ends in Chuo-ku for Ginza will need three separate ward-level applications, each with its own form, its own records standard and its own review cycle. Standard street shoots with a small footprint (handheld, no truck, no crew base) are mostly clearable in three to four weeks per ward. Larger setups extend to six to eight weeks because they trigger Tokyo Metropolitan Police planning. The wards that handle the highest-density tourism and shooting traffic. Shibuya-ku, Shinjuku-ku, Taito-ku (Asakusa), Chuo-ku (Ginza), Minato-ku — are the most skilled with global shoots and the most disciplined about records. Ward offices outside the central core can be slower and need more relationship work. This is where the line producer's standing relationships matter most.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police, Drones and Heritage Sites
Anything that affects road traffic, needs a security perimeter, or involves stunts, weapons, pyrotechnics, drones or large crowd scenes routes through the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Road closures along major axes. Yamate-dori, Meiji-dori, the Shuto Expressway ways — are in tech possible but need the longest lead times in the city, with eight to twelve weeks realistic and some axes effectively closed during commute peaks and major event windows. Drone operations need a separate filing under the Civil Aeronautics Act with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and central Tokyo airspace is heavily off-limits by the Imperial Palace exclusion zone and Haneda way paths. Filming inside or in the immediate perimeter of major heritage sites. Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, the Imperial Palace gardens, Tokyo Tower's off-limits observation levels — is ruled by each body's own filming office, not the ward. Lead times here run six to twelve weeks, location fees are major, and approvals are conditional on shot lists, gear lists and at times script review. Community notification needs are also stricter than in most global cities. Tokyo wards routinely need door-knocking notifications to immediate neighbours for residential-street shoots. Some need posted notices three to seven days in advance.
ACT 03
Studios in Tokyo
Toho Studios, Shochiku Ofuna, Nikkatsu Chofu and the Tama River Belt
Here is what that looks like on the ground. Tokyo studios sit in a ring around the metropolitan core, all reachable from central Tokyo hotels in 45 to 75 minutes. The lineup below is a working summary — the full sourcing guide with stage dimensions, ceiling heights, water tank specs and virtual production volumes lives in our dedicated studios article.
- Toho Studios (Seijo, Setagaya-ku) — flagship complex of Japan's largest studio house, used for tentpole domestic features and major inbound shoots
- Shochiku Ofuna (Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo) — historic studio campus with strong heritage and period-piece infrastructure
- Nikkatsu Chofu Studios (Chofu, west Tokyo) — multi-stage facility serving features, drama and commercial work
- Tama river rental belt — independent stages serving commercials, music videos and short-form drama with flexible booking
Toho Studios — Seijo, Setagaya-ku
Toho Studios in Seijo is the largest single-site film studio in metropolitan Tokyo and the flagship operation of Japan's largest studio firm. The campus combines many soundstages of differing scale, post-prod facilities and the working offices of Toho's production divisions. Toho stages have hosted everything from the long-running domestic Godzilla and detective franchises through to global co-productions and recent streaming-era work. For inbound shoots running long-form drama or features that need studio-grade infrastructure within Tokyo's metropolitan boundary, Toho stays the default first call and the operation that global producers find easiest to handle because it deals often with non-Japanese shoots.
Shochiku Ofuna — Kanagawa
Shochiku's Ofuna campus, just south of the Tokyo metropolitan boundary in Kanagawa, is one of Japan's most in the past major studio sites and stays an active production base for both Shochiku's own shoots and external rentals. Stages, scenic shops and a strong heritage of period and traditional Japanese drama production give Ofuna a specific niche for projects with Edo-era, Meiji-era or Showa-era visual needs. Travel time from central Tokyo is roughly 45 to 60 minutes by road. This makes a Tokyo hotel base practical even for stage-anchored shoots.
Nikkatsu Chofu and the Western Belt
Nikkatsu's Chofu Studios in west Tokyo is a multi-stage facility serving features, drama series and commercial work, with on-campus parking and easier truck access than the Setagaya or central Tokyo equivalents. The wider western Tokyo belt — Chofu, Mitaka, Komae — concentrates art-department workshops, prop houses and gear rental. This keeps build-day logistics inside one tight geography. For shoots building bespoke stages or running blue/green-screen work without committing to a full Toho footprint, the Chofu and Tama-corridor independents are often the most flexible partner.
Independent Rental Stages and Virtual Production
Beyond the major studio campuses, Tokyo has a steadily growing belt of independent rental stages along the Tama river and in the Koto and Edogawa wards on the eastern bay side. These stages serve the commercial, music video and short-form drama market, and they are increasingly the venue for LED-volume virtual production as Japanese vendors build out the technology stack. For full stage matrices, daily rates and the stages best suited to virtual production and LED-volume work, see our Tokyo studios sourcing deep-dive at /blog/production-studios-city/.
ACT 04
Locations in Tokyo
The Visual Categories That Bring Producers to the City
Here is how the picture comes together. Tokyo's strength as a location city is the variety of distinct visual registers within a small radius. The types below cover most of what global shoots request — for the operational scout files (best times of day, light, foot traffic, permit difficulty), see our Tokyo location scouting guide.
- Shibuya Crossing and the Shibuya scramble for modern urban density
- Shinjuku — Kabukicho neon, Golden Gai alleys, Omoide Yokocho post-war atmosphere
- Asakusa and Senso-ji way for traditional and pre-war Japan
- Imperial Palace gardens and Marunouchi for imperial-era and corporate-Japan registers
- Tokyo Bay and Odaiba for waterfront-meets-skyline sequences
- Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Tower line for modern luxury and the night skyline
- Western residential wards (Setagaya, Suginami) for quiet domestic and modern drama
- Yanaka and Nezu for surviving low-rise old Tokyo within the metropolitan core
Shibuya, Shinjuku and the Contemporary Tokyo Beat
Shibuya Crossing is the single most-requested look in Tokyo and the most demanding from a permit perspective. Shibuya-ku sets up closely with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on any setup that involves blocking traffic flow, holding crowds for cued action, or staging tripods on the elevated walkways and Hachiko square. Most global shoots clear the crossing in two ways: handheld run-and-gun work cleared as a low-impact filming application, or fully set up short closure windows in early-morning hours (5–7am) negotiated through the ward and the police. Shinjuku's Kabukicho and Golden Gai sit under Shinjuku-ku and need the same disciplined application but are quieter to clear because the foot-traffic peak is later in the day. Both wards expect a Japanese line producer as the named applicant.
Asakusa, Yanaka and the Heritage Registers
Asakusa's Senso-ji temple and the Nakamise way are ruled jointly by Taito-ku for the public street. The Senso-ji temple admin for the temple precinct itself. Lead times for Senso-ji approvals are six to ten weeks. The temple admin reviews the script for any sequence that will appear within the precinct. Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi — the surviving low-rise quartiers in north-east Tokyo — give producers the pre-war and immediate post-war Tokyo register that Asakusa's tourism density now obscures. Bunkyo-ku and Taito-ku handle these neighbourhoods. They are some of the more relationship-driven ward applications in the city because the residential community notification needs are strictly enforced.
The Bay, the Skyline, and the Modern Register
Tokyo Bay and Odaiba — under Minato-ku and the wider waterfront authority — give the modern skyline-and-water register that anchors a lot of the city's recent inbound work. Rainbow Bridge, the Odaiba waterfront promenade, the Tokyo Big Sight build style and the Daiba park all sit inside the same operational footprint and are some of the more permit-friendly central locations because the Odaiba area was designed with public-event use in mind. Roppongi Hills and the Tokyo Tower line, both under Minato-ku, deliver the modern luxury and night-skyline beats. For the Imperial Palace gardens and the Marunouchi corporate register, you are working with the Imperial Household Agency for the inner gardens and Chiyoda-ku for the Marunouchi streets — two very different application processes that have to be sequenced with care. For the full taxonomy with permit difficulty ratings and shoot-window guidance, see /blog/commercial-shoot-locations-city/ and our /services/pre-production/location-scouting-services/ page.
ACT 05
Seasonal Considerations for Filming in Tokyo
Cherry Blossom Blackouts, Typhoon Season, and the Production Calendar
Here is what we have to work with. When you shoot in Tokyo matters almost as much as where. The city has clear shoulder windows, a non-negotiable cherry-blossom (sakura) pressure point, a long typhoon season that affects exterior shoots from June through October, and a calendar of festivals and holidays that compress availability. Plan against this calendar from the first scout.
- Best operational months: late October–early December, and mid-February–mid-March
- Cherry blossom (sakura) season: late March–early April — extreme tourism and crew demand, near-impossible permit access in flagship parks
- Typhoon season: June–October — exterior schedules need rain cover and weather-day buffers, specific August and September
- Major blackouts: Golden Week (late April–early May), Obon (mid-August), New Year (late December–early January)
Cherry Blossom Season — The One Window That Distorts Everything
Cherry blossom (sakura) season runs roughly from the last week of March through the first ten days of April in central Tokyo, with the precise dates set each year by the Meteorological Agency's blossom-front forecast. For two weeks the city absorbs an extraordinary volume of domestic and global tourism, hotel inventory in the central wards becomes scarce and costly, and ward-level permit access in flagship parks (Ueno, Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi, Chidorigafuchi) is effectively closed to filming. Productions that want sakura in shot have to plan twelve months out, work with the line producer to identify second-tier viewing locations that will still issue permits, and accept that crew rates and lodging costs will run materially higher than in the shoulder months. Productions that do not want sakura in shot should simply avoid the window fully — the operational friction across the city is high even for shoots with no flowering trees in frame.
Typhoon Season and the Summer Reality
Typhoon season runs from June through October, with the highest-risk months being August and September. Tokyo itself rarely takes a direct hit but is often affected by the rain bands and wind from systems passing south of the Kanto region. Shoot days lost to rain cover are a budget reality each summer. Compounding this, Tokyo's August humidity (often 85–95% with temperatures near 35°C) is genuinely punishing for crew and gear, and shoots that have not worked in this climate before always underestimate the cooling, hydration and gear-protection budget. Plan summer schedules with two to three weather days built into each ten-day block, rain cover for any exterior beat that cannot move indoors, and serious heat-stroke protocols for any extended day work outside the air-conditioned envelope.
Holidays, Festivals, and Calendar Blackouts
Several windows in the Tokyo calendar effectively remove the city from the production pipeline. Golden Week (a chain of national holidays from late April through the first week of May) closes most government offices for nearly two weeks and pulls crew availability sharply. Obon (mid-August) is a domestic travel and family-return holiday that drains crew availability for roughly a week. New Year (late December through the first week of January) is the longest single shutdown of the year — most ward offices, government services and many vendors close for the equivalent of the Western Christmas-through-New Year period. Major festivals and events such as the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa (May), the Tokyo Marathon (March) and the autumn high-school baseball finals can also lock down specific districts on specific days. Best operational months for inbound shoots are late October through early December (cool, dry, stable light) and mid-February through mid-March (cold but stable, ahead of sakura). See our /locations/tokyo/ landing page for an overview of how we structure scouting around these constraints.
ACT 06
Crew Availability, Costs and the Realistic Incentive Picture
Lead Times, Day Rates, and What Japan Actually Pays Back
Here is the layout. Tokyo gives some of Asia's deepest crew availability and one of its most disciplined production environments. Plan crew bookings against the city's calendar and price the realistic Japanese incentive stack into the budget from day one. Japan does not have a single high-rate national rebates. The funding case has to be built honestly.
- DOPs, gaffers, key grips and sound mixers: 6–10 weeks lead time for top tier, 3–4 weeks for mid-tier
- Production designers and costume designers: 8–12 weeks for prep-heavy shoots
- Stunt coordinators, SFX supervisors and underwater units: 8–12 weeks for full-scale work
- Realistic Japanese incentive recovery: 10–20% of qualifying spend, assembled from prefectural subsidies, JFC support and content funds
Lead Times for Booking Key Roles
For a typical inbound feature or six-episode series shooting in Tokyo, plan ten to twelve weeks minimum from script lock to first day of principal photography just for crew booking. Director of photography, production designer and 1st AD are mostly the binding constraints — top-tier Tokyo talent is booked across many competing shoots year-round and the domestic feature and series pipeline takes priority on long-standing relationships. Mid-tier department heads and the bulk of crew are mostly ready with three to four weeks notice outside the cherry blossom and Golden Week windows. Commercials run on tighter schedules — typical lead time for a five-day Tokyo commercial is three to four weeks for crew, two weeks if the agency or production house has standing relationships.
Day Rates and Budget Anchors
Tokyo crew day rates are negotiated rather than published to a single collective agreement. But in practice expect roughly ¥40,000–¥60,000/day for camera assistants and electricians, ¥60,000–¥100,000/day for gaffers and key grips, ¥100,000–¥180,000/day for directors of photography on inbound work, ¥150,000–¥300,000/day for production designers, and significantly higher for the senior names often working with global shoots. Japanese consumption tax (shouhizei) at 10% applies to most production services. Social insurance and withholding obligations on Japanese-payroll crew are non-negotiable and must be in the budget from day one. Gear rental, location fees and base-camp logistics are broadly comparable to London and meaningfully higher than Seoul or Bangkok for equivalent specs. Hotel costs in central Tokyo for a multi-week production base are mostly the single line item that surprises producers most — book early, above all around the sakura, Obon and New Year windows.
The Honest Incentive Picture
Japan does not run a single national refundable film tax credit comparable to France's TRIP (30–40%), Italy's 40% credit or the UK AVEC. Global shoots assemble value from a stack of prefectural subsidies (Hokkaido, Okinawa and others run the most generous programmes), Japan Film Commission planning, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office, J-LOD support for content distribution, and the Cool Japan Fund for projects that promote Japanese culture overseas. A well-structured shoot mostly realises 10–20% of qualifying spend in net recovered value — meaningful. But materially below what a TRIP-style rebates would deliver. The full mechanics, programme-by-programme breakdown and worked examples are covered in our /blog/film-tax-incentives-guide/. Producers should choose Tokyo for the production value and the locations rather than for a competitive rebates maths — and our team can walk you through whether the ready stack covers your project's funding gap before you commit to a Tokyo production base. To start a Tokyo production conversation, contact us at /contact/ with your script status, shoot window and budget envelope.
ACT 07
Common Questions
How long do filming permits take in Tokyo?
Standard ward-level (区) street filming permits typically process in three to four weeks per ward. Larger setups with lighting, generators, picture vehicles or base camp extend to six to eight weeks because they require Tokyo Metropolitan Police coordination. Major road closures take eight to twelve weeks. Heritage and religious sites — Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, the Imperial Palace inner perimeter — run six to twelve weeks under their own filming offices. A single shooting day that crosses multiple wards needs separate applications for each ward, so build buffer into the schedule. Always avoid the cherry blossom window (late March–early April), Golden Week (late April–early May), Obon (mid-August) and New Year (late December–early January) when nothing moves quickly.
Can I shoot in public spaces in Tokyo?
Yes, with the appropriate ward-level (区) permit and, where required, Tokyo Metropolitan Police clearance. Streets, public parks, ward-managed plazas and most municipal buildings are accessible to filming with the right permit, an insurance certificate (typically ¥100M+ public liability), and a Japanese line producer as the named local representative. Anything affecting road traffic, requiring crowd control, or involving stunts, drones or pyrotechnics also needs Tokyo Metropolitan Police coordination. Shibuya Crossing, Shinjuku Kabukicho and other high-density tourist locations require disciplined applications and often early-morning shoot windows. Handheld run-and-gun work with a small crew can sometimes proceed under simplified declarations — confirm with your fixer before relying on that route.
What is the best season to shoot in Tokyo?
Late October through early December and mid-February through mid-March are the two reliable windows. They give cool, dry, stable weather with clean light quality and reasonable hotel availability. Avoid the cherry blossom window (late March–early April) when permits in flagship parks are effectively closed and tourism saturates the central wards. Avoid typhoon season's peak (August–September) when exterior schedules need significant rain-cover and heat-stroke buffers. Avoid Golden Week, Obon and New Year, when government offices close and crew availability drops sharply. Winter (December–February) outside the New Year window offers fast permit access but only nine to ten hours of usable daylight.
Do I need a fixer to shoot in Tokyo?
For practical purposes, yes. Tokyo's permit landscape is distributed across the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Film Office, 23 ward-level (区) permit offices, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the rail operators, the Civil Aeronautics Authority for drones and the heritage-site administrations — every form is in Japanese, every conversation expects a Japanese point of contact, and most ward offices require a Japanese line producer as the named applicant on the autorisation. International productions also need Japanese payroll for any local crew (with consumption tax, social insurance and withholding obligations), Japanese insurance recognised by the permit offices and customs handling for equipment imports under ATA Carnet. A Tokyo fixer or local production service company holds these relationships and is generally faster, cheaper and lower-risk than building them from scratch for a single production.
What are typical day rates for Tokyo crew?
Tokyo crew day rates run roughly ¥40,000–¥60,000 for camera assistants and electricians, ¥60,000–¥100,000 for gaffers and key grips, ¥100,000–¥180,000 for directors of photography on inbound work, and ¥150,000–¥300,000 for production designers. Senior names working regularly with international productions sit higher and are negotiated. Add 10% Japanese consumption tax (shouhizei) on most line items, plus the social insurance and withholding overhead on Japanese-payroll crew. Equipment rental, location fees and base-camp logistics are competitive with London and meaningfully higher than Seoul or Bangkok. The realistic Japanese incentive stack returns 10–20% of qualifying spend on a well-structured shoot — covered in detail in our film tax incentives guide.
Ready to Roll
Planning a Production in Tokyo?
Whether you are scouting Shibuya Crossing for a feature, locking a Toho stage for a streaming series, or scheduling a five-day commercial around cherry blossom season and typhoon-window risk, our Tokyo team has the ward-level (区) permits, crews, studio relationships and police-coordination experience ready to go. 撮影 東京 is what we do every week — and we run the operational and language side so directors and producers can focus on the work. Contact Fixers in Japan to discuss your next project.