TOPPAN Holdings Executive Vice President & COO Kazunori Sakai (left) with the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of the Government of Canada © TOPPAN Holdings Inc.

Working with Canadian companies in digital creative fields to create new content

Tokyo – TOPPAN Holdings will launch collaboration with Canadian companies for R&D on digital technology, taking advantage of the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA)1 program of the Trade Commissioner Service at the Embassy of Canada to Japan.

Through the CTA program, TOPPAN Holdings and Canadian companies will collaborate mainly in new content production and spatial design domains using digital technology.

Background

As technological innovation progresses in the field of digital content, the fusion of the virtual and real worlds has made it possible to go beyond visuals and create rich forms of expression that stimulate the five senses, including elements such as sound, aroma, and ambient temperature. Diverse digital content making use of technologies including projection mapping and LED walls2 is garnering attention throughout the world.

The Government of Canada has deployed the CTA program globally since 2013 to support the growth of domestic Canadian technology companies in international markets. In Asia, it supports technological and creative collaboration between Canadian and local companies through five hubs, located in Japan, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Montreal, Quebec, is home to numerous creative studios that have strengths in public art3 and spatial design. The digital content they produce is acclaimed for the quality of expression, particularly in terms of the messages and narratives it conveys. In addition to world-leading technology companies in AI and quantum fields, there is also a concentration of companies with creative skills in various other domains, including film and gaming.

The TOPPAN Group has been reshaping its business portfolio through “Digital & Sustainable Transformation,” aiming to contribute to a sustainable society and enhance corporate value. TOPPAN Digital Inc. (TOPPAN Digital), which orchestrates the Group’s overall business strategy for digital transformation, is leveraging digital technology to create new business domains. This includes efforts to enable accurate color reproduction in fields such as healthcare, cultural heritage archives, and VR content by utilizing its Color Management System (CMS), a technology that ensures consistency in expression by calibrating differences in the fundamental colors and color gamuts used in displays, printers, and printing presses. Incorporating cutting-edge technology, TOPPAN Digital has also launched TOPPAN DIGITAL SANDBOX™4 as a platform for prototyping and experimentation to generate seeds for developing new businesses that use digital technologies effectively.

Through the Embassy of Canada’s CTA program, TOPPAN Holdings will kick off collaboration on R&D for digital technology, working with Canadian companies to drive co-creation centered on new content production and spatial design.

The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada, visited the TOPPAN Group’s NIPPON GALLERY TABIDO MARUNOUCHI™5 in Tokyo on October 31, where she met Kazunori Sakai, Executive Vice President & COO of TOPPAN Holdings, to discuss opportunities for comprehensive collaboration with Canada and its firms and ecosystems, toward the development and co-creation of future innovative technologies, and welcomed the TOPPAN Group to increase its activities and presence in Canada.

Outline of the collaboration

Components:
1. Collaboration in the pursuit and exploration of new forms of expression, including content creation and spatial design using digital technology, and application of digital twin technology to creative fields.
2. Collaboration, including joint presentations targeting co-creation by Canadian companies and the TOPPAN Group at the CTA program’s events in Japan.
3. Medium- to long-term collaboration with R&D talent through specific Proof of Concept (PoC) projects.

Period: November 1, 2023 – March 31, 2025

Future

By collaborating with Canadian companies mainly in digital creative fields, TOPPAN Holdings aims to enrich society by creating spatial designs, installations, and experiences that combine new content production and digital technology.

1. CTA Program
https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/tcs-sdc/cta-atc/index.aspx?lang=eng 

2. LED wall
A video display consisting of multiple LED panels, enabling it to be customized into various shapes and sizes.

3. Public art
Works of art and culture that are installed in public outdoor spaces rather than art galleries and museums.

4. TOPPAN DIGITAL SANDBOX™
Established on November 12, 2021, as a prototyping and experimentation hub. While gaining exposure to the latest digital technology, employees create new value by backcasting and forecasting to generate seeds for new businesses. It supports a range of prototyping and experiments, equipped with local 5G access points, high-speed communication lines, digital devices, and machine tools.

5. NIPPON GALLERY TABIDO MARUNOUCHI™
TOPPAN’s hub for co-creating content with various partners toward establishing Japan as a major tourist destination. Advanced visual expression technologies convey the beauty of national treasures, important cultural properties, and tourism assets found throughout Japan.