Aiming to form communities of Japanese culture fans and link up with Cool Japan events around the world to accelerate expansion to global markets 

Tokyo – TOPPAN Inc. (TOPPAN), a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings Inc., is enhancing the features of VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN, the metaverse event held in 2023 to showcase the culture and charms of Japan globally, and relaunching it as a metaverse event platform specialized for and tying in with Cool Japan events throughout the world. The platform will go live on February 1.

Coinciding with the launch of the platform will be a tie-in with the ICHIBAN JAPAN pavilion (operated by Taiwan Tohan)?at the Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival, one of Asia’s biggest anime and manga events, which will be held in Taiwan from February 1 to 5.

The VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN event held by TOPPAN in July last year featured a collaboration with HYPER JAPAN Festival 2023 (organized by CROSS MEDIA LTD.), one the U.K.’s leading comprehensive expos of Japanese culture. It was well received as a metaverse event enabling users to experience VR content of precious Japanese cultural properties, festivals, and live music in a metaverse space recreating distinctive Japanese scenery with elements of both tradition and fantasy. In the tie-up with the ICHIBAN JAPAN pavilion at the Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival, in addition to the popular Castle Town World, TOPPAN is adding a Cosplay Contest World, Manga World, Music World, and Community World. The event will be rebooted as a metaverse space in which users can enjoy diverse Japanese culture, from traditional to pop. TOPPAN will also drive the formation and operation of metaverse fan communities in cooperation with Scalably Inc., a company engaged globally in the Web3 marketing field that has been collaborating with TOPPAN since February last year.

Background

The TOPPAN Group is advancing a digital transformation (DX) business under its Erhoeht-X (erhoeht cross) brand, a concept for supporting digital innovation of society and companies as well as driving the TOPPAN Group’s own digital transformation. In the digital content business, the TOPPAN Group is aiming to expand by supplying digital content to growth markets, such as VR and the metaverse, based on such technologies as 3-D measurement for precise digitization of an object’s shape as well as color management and high-definition image processing developed in the field of printing. The TOPPAN Group showcases the charms of Japan by using a range of cutting-edge technologies. These include Meet Japan!, a proprietary high-quality 4K video library, and Street Museum,1 an evolved information platform that revitalizes tourist areas by using VR content on historical sites as a tourism resource.

Main content and features of VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN

Castle Town World

The Castle Town World, which proved popular at the previous event, will feature a shop tie-up booth launching a service for cross-border e-commerce through KANAproMARKET,2 a consumer e-commerce site operated by TOPPAN. It will sell items such as character and music-related goods. This will provide fans of Japan from around the world with the opportunity to experience shopping based in a metaverse space.

Cosplay Contest World (new)

To further evolve fusion of the real and virtual worlds in Cosplay Contest World, a feature has been added to coordinate the metaverse space with actions in the real world. Photographs taken at the event will be displayed inside Cosplay Contest World, and users will be able to vote for their favorite costumes. This feature will stimulate community activity and provide an opportunity to present the talents of cosplayers to a wider audience.

Manga World (new)

Manga World will present new ways to enjoy manga by rendering spaces matched to the worlds of comics. A function is being introduced that allows users to exchange comments in real time by using chat messaging that employs three-dimensional text developed by TOPPAN as a new form of expression. In a tie-up with the popular Japanese manga comic Fist of the Northern Star (from Coamix Inc.), a unique world will be created in the metaverse space.

Music World (new)

In Music World, users will be able to share the experience of watching visuals of live music performances in the metaverse. Content will include some of the live music streamed online as part of VIRTUAL Utaden 2024, which TOPPAN will hold on February 18, as well as an experience of Japanese musical anime. Music World will also feature the aforementioned function allowing users to exchange comments in real time by using chat messaging with three-dimensional text.

Community World (new)

In Community World, specialized “community rooms” will be generated when users launch threads based on specific topics or interests. These rooms will enable users to converse and exchange opinions in real time.

Improved accessibility

Users previously needed to download third-party platforms to access VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN but with the relaunch it is now accessible via a web browser on a PC or smartphone, making it even easier to enjoy Japanese culture in a metaverse space.

Future

Using web3 technology and new functions introduced for the reboot of VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN, TOPPAN will continue to explore the ideal form and effectiveness of communities in the metaverse. Building on events in the U.K. and Taiwan, TOPPAN aims to expand hubs for showcasing Japanese culture in the metaverse to regions in which growth in content consumption is anticipated, such as North America, the ASEAN region, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. TOPPAN will also drive efforts to form communities of Japan fans and link up with Cool Japan events around the world.

TOPPAN will provide businesses, organizations, and local authorities targeting overseas markets with platforms for delivering information and attracting fans as well as targeting the creation of a Cool Japan economic zone.

1. Street Museum, an interactive XR sightseeing application, is a platform and app that combines XR and GPS. It reproduces castles and other historical sites that no longer exist with vivid, high-definition XR content and allows visitors to experience the history of a particular area or site through a linkup with information on their current location via smartphones and tablet devices. As of July 2023, Street Museum features 45 historical sites that can be viewed via a single sightseeing app, including Hikone Castle, Matsumoto Castle, and other national treasures and historical sites from regions throughout Japan.

2. KANAproMARKET is “zero inventory and zero stockout” online shop that enables users throughout the world to purchase goods. In addition to dispatching product inventory, it operates a one-stop, end-to-end service from automated on-demand, small-lot product manufacture to delivery.
Official website: https://kana-pro.com/ 

*IOS is a registered trademark or trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and is used under license.
*Android is a trademark of Google LLC.
About VIRTUAL REMIX JAPAN™
Launch of revamped version: February 1, 2024
Official website: https://world.virtualremixjapan.com/?lang=en 

About the 12th Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival and the ICHIBAN JAPAN pavilion

Dates: February 1 to 5, 2024
Venue: Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei, Taiwan
Organizer: Chinese Animation & Comic Publishers Association
Operator of ICHIBAN JAPAN pavilion: Taiwan Tohan
Admission fee required
Event website: https://www.ccpa.org.tw/tica/index.php?tpl=11 

About VIRTUAL Utaden 2024 (anime song relay)

Date and time: Starts at 18:00 on February 18, 2024. (Archive footage available for streaming until 23:59 on March 3)
Streaming platform: Z-aN
Organizer: TOPPAN Inc.
See official website for ticket information: https://utaden2024.com/