The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and the Cool Japan Fund (Cool Japan Fund) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on business collaboration.

With the government's goal of attracting 10 million foreign visitors to Japan last year and aiming for 20 million in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, the MOU aims to strengthen collaboration to attract foreign tourists and to strengthen cooperation to promote the overseas expansion and international competitiveness of business sectors related to Japan's globally popular products and services.

The collaboration between the JNTO, which has tourism promotion bases in 14 cities around the world and promotes inbound tourism, and the Cool Japan Fund, which provides risk capital to Japanese companies to promote the overseas commercialization of Japan's attractions, will promote the dissemination of Japan's attractions and the development of various industries and regional economies. This collaboration, made possible with the support of government agencies and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will establish a system for promoting Visit Japan and Cool Japan across Japan, spreading the impact not only to tourism-related industries but also to a wide range of industries and local industries, including media and content, food and services, and fashion and lifestyle, and contributing to the formation of the Japanese brand overseas. In addition to introducing new business projects that are expected to be in demand overseas to the Cool Japan Fund, the organization will also promote Cool Japan and Visit Japan through JNTO's overseas travel fairs, seminars, business meetings, and Japan tourism promotion events, as well as through related facilities overseas invested in by the Cool Japan Fund, such as Japan Malls and Food Towns. At the press conference, JNTO Chairman Ryoichi Matsuyama said, "An all-Japan system is important to boost tourism. I hope this collaboration will create fans of Japan and encourage people to visit Japan." Cool Japan Fund President Ota Nobuyuki said, "I think there's a lot we can do. I recently attended the opening reception for the Le Japon Rive Gauche exhibition at Bon Marché in Paris and it really hit home that Japan is in the spotlight. I want to create a partnership where one plus one equals three, and I want to create a partnership where concrete initiatives and an all-Japan structure are visible."

Furthermore, in response to a question about the Cool Japan Fund, asking whether it's moving too slowly, President Ota stated, "We're starting to see investment projects. I don't think it's slow. I think we'll be able to announce quite a few investment projects by the end of the year, and we intend to announce double-digit specific projects by the end of the fiscal year."