Taiwan and Japan Representatives Celebrate 14 Original Taiwanese Characters at the Opening of Licensing Japan

2021-04-19

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Taiwan and Japan Representatives Celebrate 14 Original Taiwanese Characters at the Opening of Licensing Japan

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Licensing Japan kicked off its 11th edition in Tokyo from April 14th to 16th. On Wednesday (14th) The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) hosted the "Taiwan Pavilion Opening Press Conference" simultaneously with Japan, inviting Deputy Representative CHANG Jen-Joe of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative in Japan and Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA) Vice Chairman TOUYAMA Yasushi to participate in the event via conference call at the physical Taiwan Pavilion in Japan.

 

On the ground in Taiwan, Legislators WU Szu-Yao, LAI Ping-Yu, and LIN Chu-Yin, TAICCA Chairperson Ting Hsiao-Ching, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Deputy Representative YOKOCHI Akira, and LINE Sticker and Creators Business Lead LU Tai-Chun were also in attendance to support Taiwan's character IPs and its success in the Japanese market. 

Guests of the Taiwan Pavilion Opening include, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Deputy Representative CHANG Jen-Joe, Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA) Vice-Chairman TOUYAMA Yasushi, TAICCA Chairperson TING Hsiao-Chung, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Deputy Representative YOKOCHI Akira, Legislator WU Szu-Yao, Legislator LAI Ping-Yu, Legislator LIN Chu-Yin, LINE Sticker and Creators Business Lead LU Tai-Chun.

 

Deputy Representative CHANG spoke at the press conference from Japan, "We wish that through this trade show, Taiwanese and Japanese character brands can learn from each other, creating more opportunities for cooperation with Japanese licensing companies. We hope to see more Taiwanese characters in the Japanese market in the near future."

 

"The more popular the content is abroad, the more it reflects the soft power of a country. Preferences and market trends evolve organically. In recent years, there have been so many 'Hataizu' (哈台族, people obsessed with Taiwanese culture) in Japan because of Taiwan's unique charm and the influence of Taiwan's content. I believe many Japanese friends share the same feeling," shared Deputy Representative YOKOCHI. "Taiwan's IPs, design, technology, games, film, and TV industries are the best media for the world to understand and experience Taiwan's diverse and vivid culture."

 

"As TAICCA's second participating in Licensing Japan, we made two breakthroughs such as signing an MOU with CBLA to select the character IPs most suitable for the Japanese market and partnering with LINE STICKER to select popular amongst Taiwanese LINE users to join this year's lineup. We also provide translation services at the Taiwan Pavilion in Japan to help buyers get to know each brand" stated Chairperson TING. "TAICCA is also thrilled to see one of our selected IP, Kuroro Space Cat, has partnered with one of the MIT face mask production companies allowing the Japanese market to enjoy Taiwanese characters while staying careful during the pandemic."

 

Chairperson TING also emphasized TAICCA's wish to forge more cross-discipline partnerships to expand Taiwan's original IPs and image economy. She also looked forward to building upon Taiwan-Japan's friendship to utilize TAICCA's various mechanisms to promote ACG industries.

 

CBLA Vice-Chairman TOUYAMA also commented on the joint efforts of TAICCA and CBLA. He believed that the MOU partnership would promote more business exchanges, and hoped to create a brand new industry ecosystem together.

 

TAICCA consolidates domestic and foreign resources to develop international character IP licensing, and actively participates in Licensing Japan each year. In 2020, the team led by TAICCA generated about NT$400 million in output value from the trade show. With "Taiwan Content Island'' as the theme of the Taiwan Pavilion this year, TAICCA curates the pavilion to emphasize the Taiwan-Japan friendship. To express gratitude for Japan's support in Taiwan's agriculture products, TAICCA planned a special series of illustrations of each character to be displayed at the pavilion. 

 

TAICCA partnered with Taiwan Character Brand Licensing Association (TCBLA) to promote Taiwan's character IPs to the Japanese market and encouraged brands to approach consumers via all possible channels. One of the brands, Kuroro Space Cat (KURORO 宇宙探查隊), partnered with one of the national face mask production teams, YI TING NON-WOVEN Co., to design nearly 100 patterns for original Made in Taiwan (MIT) masks in Japan, expecting to drive brand recognition across industries.

 

Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-Liang  M.D., PH.D. attended the press conference to support the cooperation of Taiwan's medical industry and cultural content industry coming together for international expansions. This cross-industry cooperation demonstrates TAICCA's mission to ignite more partnership opportunities with the content industries and across borders.

 

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) also set up physical and online pavilions, gathering 7 Taiwanese manufacturers and eleven brands to participate in Licensing Japan, gathering Taiwan's cross-industry capacity and working with TAICCA s to expand Taiwan's cultural brand awareness.

 

This year, to expand the selection of character IPs, TAICCA invited LINE STICKER to recommend outstanding sticker collections on its platform and had an open call with CBLA. Fourteen Taiwanese loveable characters, including, OPUS, Kuroro Space Cat (KURORO 宇宙探查隊), Awa's Life (米犬日常), MILUEGG (米滷蛋 ), HOOHOOLAB (呼呼實驗室), PONCORGI (柯基犬椪椪 ), MeiMei X MrHH (美美x H.H先生), Majimeow (麻吉貓 ), Takokuma (章魚熊), TAIWANIMAL (灣Ａ麻吉), DOCA (豆卡頻道), SINKCOMIC (辛卡米克-喵喵草尼馬), FoodieG (吃貨雞仔), and The Nothing Seal (無所事事小海豹) recommended by LINE STICKER, are selected.

 

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