アソビシステム and ORIGINAL have entered into a capital and business alliance and will begin building a joint platform connecting international markets with experiences in Japan. Both companies will become strategic shareholders and work to establish a foundation for long-term cooperation. This records only the events described in the body.
アソビシステム株式会社 and ORIGINAL Inc. entered into a capital and business alliance agreement on 4 August. Under the agreement, アソビシステム will invest in ORIGINAL and become a strategic shareholder, while the companies form a strategic partnership to sustainably bring Japanese culture, art, tourism and food culture to international markets. The companies will begin building a joint platform to support both international expansion and inbound tourism.
Both companies were founded in 2007. As a creative company, アソビシステム has brought Japanese culture to the world by focusing on people and the front lines of creative activity. ORIGINAL Inc., meanwhile, has a track record of operating Time Out's Japan edition as a global media business and uses its network connecting international and Japanese markets. This marks the expansion of their relationship through their first partnership involving an equity investment.
The partnership comes amid growing international interest in Japanese culture, art, tourism and food culture, together with a lack of infrastructure for developing that interest into sustainable businesses. Although the government has set long-term targets for the inbound tourism market, the infrastructure needed to turn enthusiasm into sustainable business is still developing.
The partnership's specific initiatives are organized around three pillars: jointly developing a business platform in international markets, collaborating in inbound tourism and regional revitalization, and considering a joint investment scheme. The companies have clarified their respective roles with a view to advancing these initiatives over the long term.