Experience-Driven Showcase [69]Featuring Japanese People Who Captivate Chinese Audiences JRA's New Inbound Challenge!
The government had nearly achieved its 2015 target of attracting 20 million foreign visitors to Japan by 2020, prompting an upward revision of the goal to 40 million.
Amid this, the Japan Racing Association (JRA), which has actively pursued inbound tourism, challenged itself to utilize new inbound solutions tailored to changes in Chinese visitors to Japan, coinciding with the opening of the spring racing season at Tokyo Racecourse in 2016. Akino Yamamoto from Dentsu Inc. Promotion & Produce Bureau (now the 14th Sales Bureau) reports on this campaign.
Edited and Compiled by: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau
Is Online Video the New Form of JRA's Inbound Solution?
On May 15, 2016, the day of the Victoria Mile (GI) race, Tomohiro Yamashita, hugely popular among young Chinese people, visited Tokyo Racecourse. Yamashita is a Japanese national who has gained significant support, particularly among young Chinese, by daily updating the Chinese variety show "Gentlemen's Minute," which shares diverse information about Japan since December 2014. We invited him to predict winning horses amidst the beautiful scenery of the racecourse, enjoy delicious meals on-site, and create an online video showcasing JRA's appeal from his unique perspective.
From the perspective of a Japanese person who understands what resonates with Chinese audiences, the video produced that same day was distributed to Chinese viewers starting in June. It aimed to appeal to Chinese tourists planning to visit Japan, highlighting that JRA horse racing is a national entertainment in Japan.
Who is Tomohiro Yamashita, the Japanese man Chinese people are crazy about?
Tomohiro Yamashita might be an unfamiliar name to many Japanese, but he enjoys immense popularity among young Chinese. Known as a disseminator of Japan's latest culture, he boasts 750,000 followers on Weibo (Weibo), currently China's largest SNS platform. His video channel has 1.3 million subscribers. His videos have reached a fever pitch with a total view count of approximately 500 million.
In 2015, he even won the Best Variety Channel Award at the 8th Tudou Festival hosted by China's largest video platform, Youku Tudou. He curates the latest information and appeal of Japan from a Chinese perspective—such as must-buy items when visiting Japan or interesting Japanese phrases—and shares it in the form of videos, which have now become a major trend in China.
The JRA's decision to feature Tomohiro Yamashita is tied to China's rapidly changing trends and media landscape. Since around late 2015, the purpose of Chinese visitors to Japan has gradually shifted from "product consumption" (buying Japanese goods) to "experience consumption" (experiencing Japanese culture). This shift is primarily attributed to the April 8, 2016, increase in Chinese import tariffs and the rise in repeat visitors.
Additionally, the mainstream shift in China from text-based social media like Weibo and WeChat to short, fast-paced videos provided a tailwind. Sensitive to these changes in how Chinese visitors gather information, the JRA responded by not only distributing content through major Chinese news outlets and expanding horse racing awareness via social media PR, but also by challenging itself with Tomohiro Yamashita's video distribution this time.
Conveying the real enjoyment of horse racing through Tomohiro Yamashita's firsthand experience
On May 15th, Tomohiro Yamashita, dressed in traditional Chinese attire, and his co-stars arrived at Tokyo Racecourse. Amidst the crowds filling the racecourse on a GI race day, they stood out prominently. It was Yamashita's first visit to a racecourse, and he expressed his excitement, exclaiming, "It's huge! It's beautiful!"
After checking the Chinese language explanation tools at the information desk, they challenged themselves to try horseback riding at the riding center. Horses are highly regarded animals in China, appearing in numerous auspicious idioms. In major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where many visitors to Japan are concentrated, opportunities to interact with horses are rare. Therefore, being able to actually experience horseback riding at the racecourse is said to be an attractive activity for Chinese visitors as well.
To ensure even first-time foreign visitors could easily understand and enjoy the experience, Mr. Yamashita and his group participated in the races following the same flow as regular attendees. They viewed the racehorses in the paddock before the race, each picked their winning horse, and then watched the race.
In front of the Central Information Desk
In front of the Parent-and-Foal Statue
Inbound Interest Shifts Toward Experiencing Japanese "Daily Life"
The trend among Chinese visitors to Japan seeking "Japanese-style experiences" and "everyday Japanese life" is expected to grow even stronger in 2016.
Horse racing, popular among Japanese people of all ages and enjoyed by young people and families alike, is a new experience for Chinese visitors. Its clean, expansive environment, the latest Chinese-language support tools, and the unique experience of horse racing in Japan are expected to draw even more attention going forward.
Next time, Yamamoto interviews Tomohiro Yamashita, currently visiting Japan, about why he acts as a bridge between Japan and China.
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Author
Yamamoto Akino
Dentsu Inc.
Born and raised in China. Came to Japan after graduating from university. After joining Dentsu Inc., worked as a marketing planner and promotion planner. In addition to handling clients both in Japan and overseas, specialized in creating business opportunities through analyzing cultural differences between Japan and China. This included developing and producing an original character with 90% recognition in Taiwan, and serving as a lecturer for promotion seminars in China on behalf of Dentsu Inc.