The public-private fund "Overseas Demand Development Support Organization" (Cool Japan Organization), which supports Japanese content and food exports, marked its second anniversary in November. Planned private investment in overseas projects totals 30 billion yen. President Nobuyuki Ota, who describes Japan's information dissemination through media as "air warfare" and goods sales as "ground warfare," adopting a two-pronged strategy, spoke about the organization's Asia strategy.
Regarding the fund's investment focus on Southeast Asia, he stated, "We didn't consciously target it, but it's a promising region with a large population and pro-Japanese sentiment, making it a natural target area."
Ota cited "WAKUWAKU JAPAN" (a Japan-focused TV channel by SKY Perfect JSAT) and the upcoming "Japan Food Town" in Singapore as the most representative Cool Japan Organization projects. He described this as a "two-pronged approach": the "air campaign" involves daily broadcasts of Japanese lifestyles via WAKUWAKU JAPAN in various countries, while the "ground campaign" showcases the actual diversity of Japanese cuisine at Japan Food Town. By airing programs highlighting the excellence of Japanese food and regional culinary cultures, and then allowing visitors to experience them firsthand at the stores, the ground and air campaigns are linked to create a synergistic effect.
He particularly highlights travel programs as "killer content" for boosting inbound tourism, noting that "information about regional travel is incredibly important when people who have visited Japan before, including frequent visitors, are looking for their next destination."
While the Waku Waku Japan project is still developing revenue-wise, viewership numbers are rising as expected, and the approach is to "take it slow and steady."
Regarding the Chinese market, where the organization has invested in only one venture, it acknowledged that "Japanese companies are indeed hesitant," but emphasized that "cities with a certain level of consumers less affected by economic fluctuations" hold significant potential, suggesting there is still plenty of room for action.
The organization's investments reached 13 deals within a year of its first investment in September 2014. It emphasized continuing this annual investment pace while focusing not only on outbound but also inbound projects. A key future challenge is how much it can contribute to regional revitalization. It is exploring ways to connect local areas with the world. This was reported by NNA, which distributes Asian economic information.
