Why JP Challenger's prizepool is so low?

only $17,575 USD?

even VRL & SEA subregion VCT bigger than this? ( $20,000-25,000)

Note: KR - $88,389 USD (considering the scene is not really big)
BR - $72,680 USD

I was also confused, considering val scene is pretty big in JP

no clue but, if you really think about it Japanese players rely on salaries instead of prize pool. Im pretty sure the orgs are paying them more than enough considering that korean players are willing to play for japanese orgs and also the viewership numbers are so high.

probably because most of the teams in japan already pay the players big bucks