A plan to build a colossal theme park dedicated to "Dragon Ball," a legendary name in Japanese manga and anime, is moving forward in the Middle Eastern oil-producing nation of Saudi Arabia.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who doubles as prime minister and holds significant power, the country is rapidly strengthening its ties with Japan's anime and gaming sectors. The Mainichi Shimbun explored the background to the project.

The theme park is set to be constructed on the outskirts of the capital city Riyadh by the state-owned Qiddiya Investment Co. (QIC) and Japan's Toei Animation Co.

"The house of Kame-Sennin, the seven dragon ball(s), everything matches the story. This will be in memorial of (the original creator) Akira Toriyama's legacy for having 'Dragon Ball,'" Mashari Al Thomali, a 35-year-old spokesperson for QIC, passionately said when discussing the park in late November 2024.

Although the completion date is up in the air, the released conceptual drawings include the Tenkaichi Budokai (the world's largest martial arts tournament) venue depicted in the manga, where the protagonist Son Goku fights following martial arts training, and a 70-meter-tall statue of the magical dragon Shenron, who grants a wish when the seven 'dragon balls' are gathered. The world of the adventure manga by Toriyama, who passed away in March 2024, will be packed into the park in the desert.

While "Dragon Ball" is a global hit, why build a park in Saudi Arabia? According to Al Thomali, the theme park is a product of Saudi Arabia's strong desire to create something unprecedented in the world. It seems that existing attractions in other countries, like Disneyland, were deemed insufficient. QIC apparently conceived the idea years ago and lobbied Toei Animation, which holds the rights to the anime in Japan, to make it a reality.

"We've been negotiating for a long time to express to the Japanese that we value and cherish that anime," Al Thomali revealed.

Meanwhile, Koji Mikami, a professor at Tokyo University of Technology who is familiar with the two countries' exchanges in the gaming industry, pointed out that the deepening cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Japan's content industries began in 2016. This was due to then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed's visit to Japan that year.

Saudi Arabia, boasting one of the world's largest oil reserves, has developed its nation with abundant oil money. However, with a global shift away from dependence on oil to counter global warming, creating industries to replace oil has become a significant challenge for the ruling Saud family.

In Saudi Arabia, which does not have a parliament and maintains its regime by gaining trust in exchange for improving citizens' lives, the regime could be destabilized if it fails to provide a prosperous life.

Amid this, the country decided to nurture tourism and entertainment as major industries. Crown Prince Mohammed has set forth a national plan called "Vision 2030," which includes numerical targets such as increasing non-oil government revenue from 163 billion riyals (about 6.52 trillion yen or $43.4 billion) to 1 trillion riyals (roughly 40 trillion yen or $266 billion). The plan aims to attract foreign investment and rapidly advance projects to build numerous tourist facilities, including Red Sea resorts and hotels, with the construction of the "Dragon Ball" theme park being one of them.

In addition to a departure from oil dependence, the background to the vision includes Saudi Arabia's large population of young people. According to the 2022 national census, over 60% of the country's approximately 19 million Saudis, excluding foreign workers, were under 30. The focus on tourism and entertainment including anime and games is due to concerns that society could become unstable if it fails to provide jobs for young people.

On the other hand, some in Japan have voiced regret about the world's first large-scale theme park based on "Dragon Ball" being built in the Middle East.

Hideaki Omura, the governor of Aichi Prefecture, where Toriyama is from, hinted at a desire to have the park built locally, but in June last year he conceded, "It would be difficult in Japan due to the enormous cost. It's something only Saudi Arabia can do."

According to QIC's plan, the park will cover an area of 500,000 square meters, equivalent to about 10 Tokyo Domes. It will feature at least 30 attractions across seven areas. Tadashi Sudo, a journalist familiar with the anime industry, points out, "It was Saudi Arabia that saw further potential in 'Dragon Ball,' which still holds immense popularity in North America and Europe, and made the decision to make a massive investment."

(This is Part 1 of a 2-part series)

(Japanese original by Jun Kaneko, Cairo Bureau; and Shinichiro Kawase, Nagoya News Department)