To concerned media representative

PRESS RELEASE
June 20, 2011

Akihabara Omotenashi Project (AOP)
A navigation aid project for general information on the Akihabara area

ATPA (Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association) tocollaborate with “Moekami!” at Japan Expo in France
AOP’S official characters will appear on the stage of “Bonjour, Omotenashi!”Nonprofit Organization
Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)
Atsushi Takarada, Chairman
Tomio Izumi, Secretary General
Non-profit Organization Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA) will collaborate with
Manga Artists Network, Inc (Mangaka Gakkai), a member company of ATPA in “12th Japan- Expo2011” held in Paris, France during June 30 – July 3, 2011. Mangaka Gakkai will participate in theexhibition and ATPA will support Mangaka Gakkai by utilizing its official characters created for
Akihabara Omotenashi Project (AOP), a navigation aid project for general information on theAkihabara area
Mangaka Gakkai has presented performances of “Moekami!”, a new style of performance combining
Kamishibai (Japanese traditional picture-story performance) with a taste of “Moe”(a rarefied

pseudo-love for certain fictional characters). Young voice-actresses dressed in Gothic-Lolita and othercosplay clothes perform “Moekami! (Moe Kamishibai)”, just like an animation dubbing. “Moekami!”
offers information on Japanese pop culture on their own way and is encouraging as many foreign
people as possible to visit Japan. Having sympathized with the idea and concept of “Moekami!”,ATPA entitled Mangaka Gakkai to use AOP’s official characters in their performances in France,
which is titled “Bonjour, Omotenashi !”Exhibition name12th JAPAN EXPO 2011

Exhibition site

Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition CenterDurationJune 30 (Thu.)－July 3（Sun.）, 2011 (4 days)

Hours

9:00 – 19:00

Locations of performances

Mangaka Gakkai booth(Exhibitor’s name: IFB Corporation)
Culture Stage（Expected）
CoFesta Stage (Expected)
Japan Tourism Agency booth（Expected）

As a part of AOP, ATPA has been developing the promotion of “Akihabara Omotenashi Logo” and the
project’s official characters. “Akihabara Omotenashi Logo” is to act as a sign certifying that thestores, products and services provided are safe and secure. The official characters are to work as
publicity agent for the project. “Moekami!” is the first case to officially use these characters, whichmeans they are released in France ahead of Japan. Also, a French-subtitled promotion video of thecharacters created by ATPA and C.A.C.E. (a student circle in Digital Hollywood University) will be
released for the exhibition to encourage the visitors to come to Japan.
Further, in August, the same “Moekami!“ program as the one performed by Mangaka Gakkai inFrance is scheduled to make its “triumphant” debut in Akihabara.
Akihabara Omotenashi Project (AOP)

http://akiba-brand.com

In 2010 fiscal year, ATPA was selected as one of the project-implementers of “Japan Brand contents fosteringplan”, which is supported by The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (SMEA). Since then ATPA has beenworking on AOP, a new project to build a strong local brand unique to Akihabara. AOP aims to enhance thebrand power of the city and to support the local industrial promotion. AOP allows local vendors to participate in
the project in a cross-sectional manner. Not only towards Akihabara fans across the nation, but also towards
foreign tourists who are targeted as new buyers, the participating electronics stores, pop-culture shops, andacademic institutions are extending a variety of “Omotenashi (hospitalities)” by promoting both duty-free
products and Japanese pop-culture attractiveness.

「Akihabara Omotenashi Logo」※１「Akihabara Omotenashi Project 」Official Characters（Produced by Production I.G.）※２
Copyright 2010 Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)All rights reserved※1※2

What is “Moekami !”？
“Moekami!” is the name of events featuring “Moekamishibai” performance. A group consists of five, young,Japanese professional voice-actresses, dressed in Gothic-Lolita costumes or high-school uniforms,performs Kamishibai, Japanese traditional picture-story performance, just like an animation dubbing.
（For the details, please refer to the attached documents）
In 2010 Japan-Expo at Tezuka Productions booth, a pair of Kamishibai performers performed theprogram “Astro Boy 3D Kamishibai”, “ Leo The Lion King of Jungle”, and “Marvelous Melmo “. We wereinterviewed by many reporters of local media and gained popularity among the visitors. In 2011
Japan-Expo, we have achieved further upgrade and will send five “Moekami!” performers who havegained great popularity among the audiences of our independent performances in Akihabara. They aregoing to promote Japan-Nippon in the exhibition site. In Janurary 18, 2011, through the TV program
NHK WORLD, “Moekami!” members and Kamichibai performance by Shibuya Gagekidan Theatrical
Company (a company affiliated to Mangaka Gakkai) were introduced in 120 countries worldwide.

To concerned media representative
We do hope we can seek media attention for this event. Your coverage would be highly appreciated.
For any inquiries, please contact below.
Inquiries regarding this press release and AOP Official Characters
Mr. Tomio IZUMI, Secretary General
Nonprofit Organization Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)
Phone：03-3251-5347
Email：info@npo-akiba.com
ATPA URL：http://www.npo-akiba.com
AOP URL： http://akiba-brand.com
Inquiries regarding “Moekami!”
Mr. Katsumi KOBAYASHI, Sales Director
Manga Artists Network, Inc. (Mangaka Gakkai)
1F Sky Regiteru 1-20-4, Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-0002, Japan
Phone：03-6458-2767
FAX ：03-3894-3477
URL ：http://www.mangaka-gakkai.com