The Japanese business-pitching format that inspired Dragon's Den is called Money Tigers.
Money Tigers, known in Japan as Money no Tora, provided the underlying format for entrepreneurs presenting business plans to wealthy investors. The investors decide whether to offer funding, usually in return for a share of the business.
The concept was created in Japan before being adapted for other television markets. The British version uses “Dragons” for its investors, while the American adaptation became Shark Tank, showing how the central idea was rebranded for different audiences.
The Japanese origin is sometimes confused with the British title because the format became globally famous through its later adaptations. Dragon's Den is therefore a local version of an international television format rather than a format created solely for the BBC.