Tokyo Anime Center Opens Third Overseas Branch in Charlotte, NC

• In 2023, sales from Japan's anime industry market set a historical high of 3,346.5 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%. Overseas sales accounted for 51.5% of this figure, rising 18% year-on-year to 1,722.2 billion yen, surpassing the scale of the domestic Japanese market for the first time since 2020^*3. The overseas market is expected to expand further, and related markets such as goods and events, are also expected to grow.

• DNP's first overseas TAC, Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO, has attracted an estimated 500,000 visitors in the nine months since it opened. The second store, Tokyo Anime Center Burlington Mall, which opened in February 2025, has attracted many visitors from various states in the United States. In response to these expectations and needs, DNP will establish a new operating format, referred to as the Shop-in-Shop branch model, to accelerate the expansion of this business throughout the United States.

• The Shop-in-Shop branch model is a branch set up in a shopping mall, which coexists with other stores and outlets that offer other services. This operating format allows for more flexibility in terms of time and space compared to the traditional brick-and-mortar-based model, leading to an acceleration in office expansion. Even in areas that do not have specialized anime and manga facilities, this model will enable more fans to experience authentic Japanese content in a simpler manner. The development of pilot stores may also be considered

• DNP will use the Tokyo Anime Center Charlotte UDM as a place to test various content-related services in the United States and to collaborate with local companies.

• DNP combines proprietary strengths in Printing & Information (P&I), including the ability to safely and securely process large amounts of information and expression technology, with the strengths of our partners to meet the needs of consumers by providing optimal content and related services tailored to their needs.
  Other DNP initiatives include:
  - Management of Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA SHIBUYA, to disseminate the appeal of Japanese anime culture and content to consumers in Japan and overseas. - Event businesses that utilize various intellectual properties (IP), such as manga and anime original artworks. - Management of the creator co-creation service FUN'S PROJECT^*4. 
  - Development and management of our XR communication business^*5 which creates new experiences and economic zones by leveraging Extended Reality (XR) technology that fuses real and virtual spaces.

• Leveraging the technology and know-how cultivated through these efforts to provide diverse value to consumers in addition to our network of diverse content holders and creators around the world as a strength to accelerate initiatives that lead to the further development of content culture, and make a contribution to the creative industry.

• In order to expand our content business overseas, we will use the three TAC branches in North America as a base to accelerate on-site testing of various products and services and for collaboration with local companies and organizations. DNP aims to expand to over 10 locations across North America by the end of fiscal year 2026.

＊1　DNPイメージングコムアメリカのWebサイトURL → https://www.dnpimagingcomm.com/

＊2　「東京アニメセンター in DNP PLAZA SHIBUYA」は一般社団法人日本動画協会との共同運営事業です。
WebサイトURL → https://tokyoanimecenter.jp/

*3 According to information from The Association of Japanese Animation’s Anime Industry Report 2024. The scope of the anime industry market is based on estimates of the amount paid by users for anime-related products. 

＊4　「FUN'S PROJECT」について → https://funs-project.com/

＊5　「XRコミュニケーション事業」について → https://www.dnp.co.jp/biz/solution/products/media.html

• Company and product names referred to in this release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.