Issue:
June 2025 | Ask an Associate
David Macdonald has successfully navigated the changing media landscape during his three decades in Japan
David Macdonald is a firm believer in the added value of technology. Harnessing AI tools, he says, will be the “next essential phase facing the media industry.”
Macdonald is the representative of DJMAC, a content promotion and distribution company, and a new associate member of the FCCJ.
The Canadian launched his company in 2023 after almost three decades digging deep into technology networks. Describing himself as “a digital tech guy” who is “passionate about media”, Macdonald’s experience spans the digital transformation of top global companies.
His initiation began at NTT Docomo in 1999, the giant telecommunications company, where he was the only foreign member of the i-mode service team.
His work included content creation and managing the global distribution of online games, such as the early versions of the popular Toontown and Mickey Mouse screensavers.
After a five- year stint at Docomo he moved to Disney Japan – a Docomo partner – in a seamless transition, and in 2009 joined YouTube Japan. In 2018, he became president of Discovery Japan, where he was tasked with helping foreign companies develop content for a Japanese audience.
Discovery’s mission was to establish a foothold among Japan’s digital audience, distributing a range of programs from sports to reality shows. The company had 10 million viewers by the time Macdonald left in 2022, the year it merged with WarnerMedia. “Reality shows were particularly popular with female viewers,” he said.
His work included the launch of a project to train young YouTubers, who were encouraged to make greater use of the platform at a time when it was still a relative newcomer in Japan.
“We went talent scouting,” he said, referring to a yearlong period between 2009 and 2010 when Japanese and Indian participants were selected and trained at studios in Mumbai and Tokyo. The initiative rapidly created a buzz among Japanese youth, helping them to find their voice online. The project expanded to include a collaboration with Toei focusing on the production of jidaigeki period dramas.
“Traditional samurai content had worldwide appeal, especially at that time,” Macdonald said. The project, conducted at eiga-mura [film village] in Kyoto and Toei’s samurai film sets, aimed to develop high-quality YouTube content for an international audience. Toei, meanwhile, gained greater international recognition, while Japanese participants learned new filming skills.
Macdonald, whose company advises Japan-based foreign media on using YouTube to market to the rest of the world, and vice versa – disagrees with “the image of the Japanese market as difficult to gain a foothold”, pointing to the many examples of foreign firms successfully adapting to the market here.
“It’s like developing the right design for a large American fridge to fit into a small Japanese kitchen,” he said.
After gaining degrees in History and International Relations from Canada’s Royal Military College and in East Asian Business from the University of Sheffield, Macdonald arrived in Japan in the early 1990s as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. The job took him to Tsugaru in snow-capped Aomori Prefecture, where he “was so happy that I stayed an extra two years”. His time there was life changing: he met his future partner and worked with local organizations. “I was drawn and appreciated the differences I faced compared to my own culture.”
Macdonald believes the FCCJ gives its members direct access to international journalists, at a time when social media is facing criticism for promoting lies and conspiracy theories. “I have great respect for the role journalists play in conveying correct information.”
Suvendrini Kakuchi is Tokyo correspondent for University World News in the UK.
