News
Cool Japan Fund Invests In Kadokawa's Content Creator Development Projects
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Cool Japan Fund Inc. said on Monday that it will invest up to 450 million yen (about US $3.7 million) in Kadokawa Corporation's projects to develop content creators for anime and manga outside Japan.
Kadokawa already operates a school for manga and anime artists in Taiwan, along with a a card game illustration course in a polytechnic school in Singapore.
Cool Japan Fund Inc. stated that the investment will allow Kadokawa Contents Academy Co. to expand in 10 other markets, focused mainly in Asia, but also in Europe and Australia. The fund said that Kadokawa will open schools in Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, and China by 2017, and aims to produce 5,000 graduates by 2020. Active Japanese creators will teach content production, and will work to expand a fan base with a deep understanding of Japanese content.
Bookstore operator Kinokuniya Co., and staffing agency Pasona Inc. will also invest in Kadokawa's education and content creator development projects, in particular with an e-learning program that will launch later this year.
Cool Japan Fund Inc. already invested 14 billion yen (US$128 million) in four overseas projects focused on raising demand for Japanese products and goods last October. The company secured 1.5 billion yen (US$13.7 million) from the government invest fund over the next three years to work with Japanese companies to "advance into overseas markets." The company also plans to use the funds to expand its e-commerce market, hire new engineers, improve mobile support, establish more overseas distribution centers, and implement new marketing campaigns.
"Cool Japan" is a program supported by the Japanese government and various companies that promotes modern Japanese culture such as anime and manga abroad. The program revolves around the premise that Japan's strength in business and international affairs lies in anime, manga, films, fashion, and other fields of Japanese arts and entertainment content.
Source: The Japan Times
