To answer “Why is our base in Hong Kong?”
Thank you for coming to IIJAN's online store.
Today's blog theme is about our slightly unusual founding and background, which many of you have asked about. Questions like, "Is IIJAN a Japanese company?", "Is it registered in Hong Kong?", "Are the staff Japanese?" and so on.
The Beginning of IIJAN
IIJAN was founded here in Hong Kong in January 2019. I had been staying here since 2011 as an expatriate of a Japanese company, and after living here for nearly 10 years, I fell in love with Hong Kong and chose to quit my previous job and work here. What kind of work I would do was already decided. I wanted to plan and hold many events themed around Japanese anime, which I love and which the people of Hong Kong also love.
In my previous job, I had many opportunities to work with licensors of wonderful Japanese anime. I wanted to do the kind of work I saw at the glamorous summer and winter events held in shopping centers in Hong Kong, and so, despite it being a slightly different field from my main job, I planned and held some events.
We would have meetings, come up with interesting plans, and consult with the copyright owners. We would plan and produce original local products. On the opening day, many customers would form a line, and they would be delighted to buy limited-edition items. As I kept seeing these scenes, I strongly felt that I wanted to make this my main job someday. This is the field I should stake my life on!
About Hong Kong
When I left my previous job, I considered returning to Japan or working in another country. I even received offers to that effect. But my family and I had grown to love Hong Kong. I love the culture of Hong Kong. For lunch, I have wonton noodles or Hainanese chicken rice. Always a sweetened iced lemon tea. All my children were born in Hong Kong QE (Queen Elizabeth Hospital).
My work colleagues were all very warm, and our friendships had fully grown. As soon as IIJAN's work started, I was helped by many Hong Kong friends, and we continue to exchange information with each other even now. Hong Kong is my and my family's second home.
Our Role, Our Uniqueness
As a Japanese person living and working in Hong Kong, I wondered what I could contribute to this land, my colleagues, and my customers. There isn't one answer, but what I'm thinking now is that I want to deliver a lot of excellent content, anime, games, and character IPs (intellectual property) born in Japan to fans in Asia!
What I felt when talking to various licensors is that they want to meet the expectations of overseas fans even more, and they have more and more things they want to do. The Japanese content and entertainment market is very large and vast, and rivals continue to emerge one after another. It's a highly competitive place. I often saw scenes where, being busy with marketing in Japan every day, they couldn't make much progress on their work for overseas.
I was welcomed by such licensors because I analyzed and explained the Hong Kong market, and proactively acted by implementing my own localized planning and sales.
To carry out meticulous and dynamic marketing together with Japanese content holders. Because I love the content so much, I can create plans that fans will enjoy. We aim for high-quality products designed by Japanese designers.
This is our role, and where we think we are unbeatable compared to other companies. We want to continue honing these points. On this site, we look forward to hearing from you. Share what anime you like, what products you want. Please feel free to leave a comment.
That’s all.
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