JTB is teaming up with Japan Airlines and Kadokawa, one of the nation’s leading publishers, to tap into international interest in Japan’s famed anime and manga scene.
The three companies launched the Japan Anime Tourism Association last week, and the association’s very first initiative is the creation of 88 “animation spots” around the country where fans are able to explore the locations used in their favourite tales.
The destinations combined form a pilgrimage route for dedicated manga and anime fans, inspired by the famous 88-temple route walked by religious pilgrims on the island of Shikoku.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, vice president of the new association and chairman of Kadokawa, said this is “what Japan needs to take advantage of to drive its economy”.
“It is impressive that the presence of Japan’s pop culture in the world has grown into something that can be on a par with Hollywood,” he added, pointing to the emergence of prime minister Shinzo Abe in a Super Mario costume at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“Manga and anime have made a lot of young people from around the world very interested in coming to Japan,” Motohisa Tachikawa, a spokesman for JTB, told TTG Asia e-Daily.
“But we have also realised that plenty of middle-aged people are also coming here for similar reasons. There are locations associated with anime and manga stories from Hokkaido in the very north of Japan to Okinawa in the south and there is strong demand for those places to be made more accessible,” he added.
The association will initially focus its marketing efforts on other nations in Asia, where anime and manga already have a firm and widespread following, said Tachikawa.
JTB also intends to promote tours that feature pop culture sites, while the association will utilise social media to disseminate information on the project.
