Japan created the international television format adapted as Britain’s Dragons' Den.
The original Japanese programme was Money Tigers, known in Japanese asマネーの虎, and it was broadcast from 2001 to 2004. Its central idea was simple: entrepreneurs presented business proposals to successful investors and sought financing in return for an ownership share or another negotiated arrangement.
The format was later adapted for British television, where it became Dragons' Den. The British title changed the investors’ nickname from “tigers” to “dragons,” but retained the basic pitch-and-investment structure. The concept then spread through licensed versions in numerous territories.
A frequent mistake is to assume that Dragons' Den was invented in Britain because the British edition became especially well known. Britain created its own version, but Japan supplied the original format and title.