News Release
Cool Japan Fund Inc.
Tokyo, March 23, 2018

Cool Japan Fund is pleased to announce an investment of up to 1.2 billion yen in a project todeliver Japanese entertainment at Osaka Castle Park, which will be implemented by 13 private
sector companies including Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Yoshimoto Kogyo).
In response to the growing demand for experiences among foreign tourists to Japan, thisproject will operate three theaters - one large, one medium, and one small - in Osaka Castle
Park, which is visited by a number of foreign tourists every year, to deliver Japaneseentertainment that can be enjoyed by tourists as well, including non-verbal and multilingualprograms. It will aim to provide tourists from overseas with opportunities to experience
Japanese high-quality entertainment and make the attractiveness of Japanese entertainment
widely known around the world, thereby increasing the number of foreign tourists and demandfrom them.

The government of Japan positions the revitalization of the tourism industry as one of its core
growth strategies. It has set a goal of increasing the number of foreign tourists to 40 million in2020. In addition, capturing the considerable demand from inbound tourists will help revitalize
the regional economy significantly. Accordingly, various initiatives are being taken throughout
Japan by taking advantage of each region’s local characteristics.
Against this background, initiatives are being taken at Osaka Castle Park, which attracts anumber of foreign tourists every year, to make it a world-class tourist attraction. Concurrently,
reflecting the shortage of theaters in Osaka City, a project to build new theaters in the park has
been in progress, with the leading role played by Yoshimoto Kogyo and other local companies
in Osaka.
To promote this project, Cool Japan Fund has decided to establish a new company with 13
private sector companies including Yoshimoto Kogyo and invest up to 1.2 billion yen1.
In this project, three theaters will be opened in an accessible location about five minutes’
walk from both Osakajokoen Station and Morinomiya Station by around February 2019. They
are a large theater (1,138 seats), a medium-sized theater (702 seats), and a small theater (300seats, with an all-standing capacity of 600 people).

1Contact for details regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (PR representatives: Yuge, Okuyama) Tel: +81-03-6406-7500

At those three theaters, a variety of Japanese entertainment such as shows, musicals, stage
play, and traditional Japanese stage performances including nonverbal or multilingual programs
will be delivered throughout the year and late at night to entertain foreign tourists. This will
provide the opportunities for foreign tourists, who need to arrange their schedules within alimited amount of time, to experience Japanese high-quality entertainment.
The 13 companies will work together to expand inbound tourist spending based on
effectively synchronized efforts for arranging tours for overseas tourists, strengthening sales
and announcements in Asian countries, offering evening entertainment and providing
multilingual services, by leveraging their knowledge and experience. In addition, they will
move forward with theater operations from a wide range of perspectives, such as an Osakabased initiative to develop talented people who will play leading roles in the future
entertainment industry.
Cool Japan Fund will take this project as an opportunity to make the attractiveness ofJapanese entertainment widely known around the world and increase the number of foreign
tourists and demand from them. Cool Japan Fund also hopes that this project will lead to thefurther development of art and culture in the Kansai area, make the area an even more attractive
tourist destination, and be a best practice of regional economic revitalization initiatives.

The 13 private companies are listed below. (*In no particular order)
・MBS Media Holdings, Inc. (Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・Kansai Telecasting Corporation (Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・Television Osaka, Inc. (Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・H.I.S. Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)
・JTB Corp. (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)
・NTT Plala Inc. (Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
・Kadokawa Corporation (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
・The Jikei Group of Colleges (Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)・Dentsu Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo)
・UFI FUTECH Co., Ltd. (Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
・Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka)

Contact for details regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (PR representatives: Yuge, Okuyama) Tel: +81-03-6406-7500