Tokyo, April 9, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) and DNP Imagingcomm America Corporation¹, a DNP Group Company, are pleased to announce that Tokyo Anime Center (TAC)² will open its first overseas Venue in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, April 13, 2024. 

The new overseas Venue will be called Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO, and through activities at this new base, the DNP Group will expand opportunities to connect fans around the world with Japanese content, including anime and manga.

External image of TAC San Francisco office

Establishing First Overseas Venue

In 2022, sales from Japan's anime industry market set a historical high of 2,927.7 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of approx. 7%. Overseas sales accounted for about 50% of this figure, with a particular emphasis on ongoing expansion in the Asian and North American markets³. Looking ahead, further expansion is expected, and related markets such as goods and events are also expected to grow.

In response to such trends, the DNP Group will open the Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO, in order to accelerate the content business in North America, where the market is expected to expand. In developing this business, DNP Imagingcomm America will utilize operating know-how from its Fan Photo Business, which offers automated photo shooting and printing services, as well as on-the-spot compositing and printing of characters, logos, and other content. We will target overseas fans and provide new photographic value.

Specifically, we will provide opportunities to enjoy anime-related photo booths and capsule toy vending machines, along with a portion of the works exhibited and/or introduced at exhibitions held at Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA SHIBUYA. We will also offer “Made in Japan” content services introducing original products driven by proprietary DNP technology.

We will also leverage the Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO as a venue to verify various content-related services in the United States and for collaborating with local companies.

Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO

• Location：Inside the Japan Town at 1581 Webster Street, Suite 115, San Francisco, CA 94115
• Grand Opening: Saturday, April 13, 2024
• Opening hours and holidays will be announced on the Tokyo Anime Center official website. 

URL: https://tokyoanimecenter.jp/en/about/sanfrancisco/

DNP Initiatives and Upcoming Activities

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.

• Management of Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA SHIBUYA, which disseminates the appeal of Japanese anime culture and content. 
• Event businesses that utilize various intellectual properties (IP), such as manga and anime original artworks.
• Creator co-creation service FUN'S PROJECT⁴. 
• XR Communication^® business⁵ that creates new experiences and economic zones by leveraging Extended Reality (XR) technology that fuses real and virtual spaces. 

We mine 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 which make a contribution to the creative industry. At the same time, to expand our content business overseas, we will use the Tokyo Anime Center in SAN FRANCISCO as a jump-off point to accelerate on-site verification of various services, and for collaboration with local companies.

1: DNP Imagingcomm America Corporation https://www.dnpimagingcomm.com/

2: Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA SHIBUYA is a joint enterprise with The Association of Japanese Animations. https://tokyoanimecenter.jp/en/

3: According to information from The Association of Japanese Animation’s Anime Industry Report 2023. 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 https://funs-project.com/ (in Japanese only)

5: XR Communication Business  https://www.dnp.co.jp/biz/solution/products/media.htm (in Japanese only)

*Company and product names mentioned in this news release are the registered trademarks or the trademarks of those companies.

*Product specifications and service contents mentioned in this news release are current as of the date of publication. They may be changed at any time without notice.