Money Tigers was the Japanese business programme that inspired Britain's Dragon's Den.
The Japanese programme, known as Money Tigers, established the central setup later used by Dragon's Den: entrepreneurs present business proposals to wealthy investors and seek funding for a share of their company.
The British adaptation retained the basic investment-pitch structure but gave its investors the distinctive title “Dragons”. The title reflects the programme's emphasis on powerful business figures rather than the American “shark” terminology.
Shark Tank is a separate American adaptation of the broader format and is not the Japanese source programme. The connection is a common source of confusion because both shows feature entrepreneurs pitching to a panel of investors.