The Economic Power of Japanese Pop Culture

Ever since Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu) and Heidi, Japanese animation has had its fans in the West. But especially during the last two decades, anime and manga have taken the world – and Germany – by storm. While Japanese pop culture is produced for the domestic market, particularly anime and manga are enjoying wide recognition abroad. The popularity of Japanese pop culture in Germany is illustrated by numerous events all over the country – cosplay gatherings at the Japan Day in Düsseldorf every spring and at the Frankfurt Book Fair every autumn, and large conventions, of which DoKomi is the prime example. Over the past thirteen years, DoKomi has evolved into the most-visited and most trending convention for Japanese pop culture in Germany, focusing on anime, manga, cosplay, games, fashion and music.

Even though conventions such as DoKomi have become increasingly popular – rising visitor numbers of up to 55,000 speak for themselves –, their attendee radius seems to remain limited to a core audience. Outside of the fan scene, many Germans regard Japanese pop culture as a fad of young kids, not as something to earn money with. In Japan, however, pop culture has always been seen as a business opportunity. Maid cafés, girl and boy bands, collector figures and other merchandise are proof of that. In 2018, the worldwide anime market alone amounted to nearly 17 billion Euros. More and more companies do realize the potential that lies in pop culture and decide to invest in corresponding lines of business.

So what business opportunities does Japanese pop culture present in Germany? How has the market developed, and what are the trends for the coming years? Together with DoKomi organizer Andreas Degen, DJW member since 2009, and the DoKomi organizing team, we invite you to join us for this “Hiru no Kai”. We would like to make the trends more accessible to our member companies and offer networking opportunities with market actors who share their first-hand experience.

Speakers

• Carina Hansen, Manga Artist "Miya SeParade"
• Lars Erbstößer, Founder, Anime House Deutschland
• Norman Seidel, Owner, Agentur Tenjikai e.K.

Agenda

09:30     All participants meet at Messe Düsseldorf
09:45     Guided Tour
11:00     Opening Ceremony of DoKomi
11:30     Networking / light lunch (pre-packaged lunch bags)
12:00     DJW “Hiru no Kai” (at the Congress Center Düsseldorf)
13:30     End

Please note that in order to access the premises of Messe Düsseldorf, you need either

• a negative COVID-19 test certificate from an official testing site, which shall not be older than 48 hours or
• proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination or
• proof of a COVID-19 infection no longer than 6 months and no shorter than 28 days ago, proven by a positive PCR test.

Please also note that you are required to wear a medical mask or FFP2/KN95 mask on the premises of Messe Düsseldorf.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, we can welcome a maximum of 20 participants.

Speaking Language

English

Participation Fee

DJW Members: EUR 0 / JPY 0
Non-Members: EUR 35 / JPY 5.000

For this event, we can welcome a maximum of 20 participants. Participants receive complimentary day tickets to DoKomi and may stay at the convention the whole afternoon after the closing of our DJW "Hiru no Kai". For administrative reasons, registration closes on 29 July 2021 midnight CEST. 

Note:
According to our conditions of participation, the participation fee is due for no-shows as well. Registered participants who need to cancel their attendance may do so by email up to 3 days prior to the event. Thank you for your cooperation.

Contact

Deutsch-Japanischer Wirtschaftskreis e. V. (DJW)
Maria Deutsch
Event Coordination
events@djw.de