Press Release
Cool Japan Fund Inc.
Tokyo, April 6, 2015

Investing in a US-based Japanese Tea Cafethat Originated in Nagasaki Prefecture
Cool Japan Fund has decided to jointly invest in a US-based Japanese tea cafe with its
roots in Nagasaki Prefecture. Cool Japan Fund will invest approximately 260 million yen
in the project together with Maetaku Co., Ltd. (the holding company of MAEDA-EN,USA, which has established a track record in the Japanese tea business in the US for threedecades) and a consortium of companies primarily based in Nagasaki.
The cafe will serve various drinks using high-quality Japanese tea leaves with utensils
including Hasami-yaki tea ware to be brought from Nagasaki. Using Japanese sweets,
plates and assorted goods, the cafe will be built on the concept of not just serving Japanese
tea but giving customers opportunities to enjoy Japanese culture.
Having this project as a model to bring Japan’s regional offerings to the world, Cool Japan
Fund aims to establish a sales platform for unique and competitive local products
including in Nagasaki. To help Japanese tea fit local lifestyles, Cool Japan Fund aims tohelp increase the presence of high-quality Japanese tea and of local products outside Japan.

In recent years, the US has seen an unprecedented tea boom, with the consumer market
experiencing rapid growth to reach one trillion yen. Among the different varieties, green
tea has gained popularity against the backdrop of an increased number of healthconscious consumers in the US. The consumption of green tea is expected to rise byaround five percent a year, outpacing growth of other varieties (1).
In light of these market developments, Cool Japan Fund has decided to jointly invest in aUS-based Japanese tea cafe that originated in Nagasaki. Partnering with Maetaku Co.,
Ltd. and a consortium of companies primarily based in Nagasaki, Cool Japan Fund will
invest approximately 260 million yen into the project. The new joint venture company,
GREEN TEA WORLD USA, Inc., will operate the business in the US.

The consortium is based in Nagasaki Prefecture, where Maetaku Co., Ltd. is located, andcomprises 12 companies and a few individuals who support the purpose of the newventure. The consortium will leverage respective specialties and strengths of the partners,including Maetaku Co., Ltd. (exporting Japanese tea and other products), Nagasaki
Prefecture Trading Corporation (importing and exporting products made in Nagasaki),
Bunmeido Sohonten Co., Ltd. (producing and distributing castella Japanese spongecakes), Memolead Co., Ltd. (running hotel and restaurant business), Takeno Corporation(running restaurant business) and The Eighteenth Bank.
The cafe will use high-quality Japanese tea leaves in all of the tea-based beverages. In
addition to staples such as sencha (infused green tea) and hojicha (roasted green tea),
original beverages including Matcha (powdered green tea) Espresso, Caramel Hoji Latteand Sparkling Green Tea will be offered in the $3-4 price range. The drinks will be servedin Hasami-yaki tea ware to be brought from Nagasaki. Japanese sweets, plates andassorted goods will also be provided, and will be available for sale at a separate retailspace inside a cafe. In this way, the cafe will be built on the concept of not just serving
Japanese tea but giving customers opportunities to enjoy Japanese culture while in theUS.
The first store will be launched in California in 2015, with plans to expand to fifty storesthroughout the US in 10 years. The business is expected to be deployed outside of the US
in the future.
Cool Japan Fund aims to establish a sales platform for the producers of unique andcompetitive local products based in Nagasaki first, which could otherwise find it difficult
to expand overseas on their own, and expand the effort to all of Kyushu in the near future
through a business alliance with the Kyushu Economic Federation. This project isexpected to serve as a model to bring Japan’s regional offerings to the world, and to buildmomentum beyond Nagasaki and Kyushu, encouraging other regions around Japan totake on the challenge of expanding overseas.
To help Japanese tea fit local lifestyles, Cool Japan Fund aims to help promote Japaneseculture and increase the presence of high-quality Japanese tea and of local products
outside Japan.

[Annotations] (1) Source: Tea Association of the U.S.A. Inc.

[Maetaku Co., Ltd.]
Established
Location
CEOBusiness

December 1995
Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki
Taku Maeda
Export of Japanese tea and other products[MAEDA-EN, USA]
Established
Location
CEOBusiness
Website (English)

April 1984
California, USA
Taku Maeda
Sales of Japanese tea, ice cream and other products
http://maeda-en.com/[GREEN TEA WORLD USA, Inc.]
Established
April 2015
Location
California, USA
ChairmanPresident & CEOBusiness

Taku Maeda
Osamu Murata
Japanese tea cafe business◆Contact for details regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund
Tel: +81(0)3-6406-7500