A trade-only licensing event–by the industry, for the industry.

Licensing Expo Japan will return to the world’s third largest licensing market, April 25-27, at the Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Center. The second annual event, which is sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), follows its successful debut last year, which featured more than 350 international and Japanese brands and more than 13,200 attendees.

Expanded Exhibition Area

In addition to the companies that exhibited at the inaugural Licensing Expo Japan in 2017 (such as CAA-GBG, IMG, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Ingram and Green Camel), a number of new companies and properties have also confirmed their participation in this year’s show.

“We are thrilled to see early and continued commitment from leading global licensors and agents to participate in our Japan show for the second year in a row and also welcome a lot of new exhibitors such as Sony Creative Products, Sanrio Far East, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tsuburaya Productions and a new Taiwan pavilion launched by the New Taipei City Computer Association,” says Jessica Blue, senior vice president, global licensing group, UBM.

“There are two clear factors that distinguish Licensing Expo Japan from other licensing related events in Japan. One is the highly-focused visitor promotion to the licensing business and the other is its international promotion network,” says Christopher Eve, managing director, UBM Japan. “As part of a global network of events, Licensing Expo Japan provides exhibitors with access to both the Japanese and international markets. Licensing Expo Japan is the only show in Japan that is supported by LIMA and promoted by Licensing Expo’s international network, including the premier industry magazine, License Global. The visitor promotion attracts high-quality visitors as well as many manufacturers and retailers who have not yet engaged in licensing business but who are very eager to do so.

“Over the past year we have organized a series of educational seminars for licensing business at the exhibitions that we hold in Japan for a wide range of industries such as health, food, cosmetics, fashion, jewelry and e-commerce,” continues Eve. “The seminars are aimed at unearthing new potential licensees from a wide range of manufacturers and retailers. We received a lot of feedback from exhibitors following last year’s show that they were able to meet many potential licensees from various industries whom they had never met before. I believe those pre-show seminars, coupled with LIMA’s educational seminars held during the event, are effective in attracting potential companies to attend the show and it will eventually lead to an expansion in the size of licensing market in Japan.”  

Attendee Crossover

Licensing Expo Japan will once again be held alongside IFF MAGIC Japan, a fashion exhibition and part of the world’s largest network of fashion events, MAGIC.

With the tradeshows side-by-side, the co-located events allow for a score of crossover attendees between the exhibitions, which is no surprise given that apparel is the largest licensed category in Japan.

Meet Your Perfect Match

The Matchmaking Service will also debut at Licensing Expo Japan 2018 following its success at Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe. The online service allows both exhibitors and visitors to schedule meetings before the show begins. At Licensing Expo 2017 in Las Vegas, Nev., more than 3,800 meetings were scheduled using the service.

Matchmaking will be offered in both English and Japanese.

For more information about Licensing Expo Japan, as well as to register, visit LicensingExpoJapan.com.