Japan’s Toei denies issuing licences for Dragon Ball theme park in France

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 5). Japan’s Toei denies issuing licences for Dragon Ball theme park in France. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/japans-toei-denies-issuing-licenses-for-dragon-ball-theme-park-in-france

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-05 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Toei Animation Co., the rights holders for Dragon Ball, have denied issuing licenses for a theme park inspired by the Japanese manga and anime series in France. According to the company's statement on August 31, no such licenses have been granted and they are unaware of any facts supporting media reports suggesting otherwise. The project, which would involve a €6 billion investment from Saudi Arabia, was initially reported to be linked to Dragon Ball due to shared interests between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman in the series. However, neither the French nor Saudi officials have officially mentioned Dragon Ball as part of the project.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-05, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

France and Saudi Arabia agreed to build three theme parks near Paris, with one of them reportedly inspired by the Japanese manga series Dragon Ball. However, Toei Animation Co., the company that owns the rights to Dragon Ball, has denied granting any licenses for a theme park in France. This contradicts earlier reports from media outlets, which stated that French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, both fans of Dragon Ball, had discussed building such a park during their meeting in Riyadh in December 2024. The project is said to involve a €6 billion investment from the Saudis. Toei Animation has issued a statement denying any involvement in the project, saying they are "not aware of any such facts" and have not granted any licenses.

Written for “Dragon Ball Theme Park Dispute” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Dragon Ball Theme Park Dispute
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
8
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 8 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-05 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 3329 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
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Topics

France French Japan Paris Saudi

Subjects

France GPE · 5× Saudi NORP · 3× French NORP · 2× Japan GPE · 2× Paris GPE · 2× Emmanuel Macron PERSON · 1× Japanese NORP · 1× Saudi Arabia GPE · 1× Toei ORG · 1× Toei Animation Co. ORG · 1×

Narrative

The project, involving a Saudi investment of €6 billion, to build the three theme parks in Cergy-Pontoise, north-west of Paris, is said to stem from a meeting between Macron and the Saudi crown prince in Riyadh in December 2024, during which they shared their passion for Dragon Ball.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-05
🔮 Japan’s Toei denies issuing licences for Dragon Ball theme park in France Toei Animation Co. has denied media reports that a theme park inspired by the Japanese manga and amine series Dragon Ball will be built in France, saying it has not granted any licenses.
2026-09-05 · The Straits Times
Japan’s Toei denies issuing licences for Dragon Ball theme park in France · assertive framing

Claims (8 extracted, 0 hedged)

Japan’s Toei denies issuing licences for Dragon Ball theme park in France Toei Animation Co. has denied media reports that a theme park inspired by the Japanese manga and amine series Dragon Ball will be built in France, saying it has not granted any licenses. asserted
it → deny → licenses
France and Saudi Arabia agreed in August to build three theme parks near Paris and media outlets reported that one of them would be linked to Dragon Ball. asserted
one → agree → Ball
The agreement came as French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, both said to be Dragon Ball fans, held talks in France. asserted
Macron → come → France
Regarding news reports that a Dragon Ball theme park will be built in France, the company said in a statement dated on Aug 31 that it and the other rights holders “have not granted any licences and we are not aware of any such facts”. asserted
we → regard → facts
The project, involving a Saudi investment of €6 billion, to build the three theme parks in Cergy-Pontoise, north-west of Paris, is said to stem from a meeting between Macron and the Saudi crown prince in Riyadh in December 2024, during which they shared their passion for Dragon Ball. asserted
they → involve → Ball
Neither the French presidential office nor the Saudi company that would invest in the project have officially mentioned Dragon Ball. asserted
that → invest → Ball
Dragon Ball started as a manga comic series, serialised from 1984 to 1995, that follows the adventures of protagonist Goku and his allies as they battle progressively stronger enemies. asserted
they → start → enemies
Its success in Japan and abroad has spawned multiple anime series, films and extensive merchandise. asserted
success → spawn → series
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