PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JETRO and Comic Con Africa connect South Africa to Japan

 

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Comic Con Africa have announced the continuation of their partnership to further grow the interest between Southern Africa and Japanese companies and strengthen trade relations through pop culture and intellectual properties (IPs) licensing. This will be done through hosting the third instalment of online business matchmaking meetings that will commence during the month of September and giving Japanese pop culture fans an opportunity to taste, see, hear, and touch Japanese pop culture, through gaming, food, daily use items, and music.

 

For this year’s Comic Con Africa, focus slightly shifts to the anime fan as an important part of the business ecosystem, as the tastemaker. This brings us to the most exciting feature of our 2025 collaboration. The "Made in Japan Collection" gaming station termed “Comic Con Africa 2025 – Made in Japan Collection” which is set to be a chance for fans to experience Japanese-developed games. The gaming station will be a physical representation of a project launched by JETRO on Steam to showcase and promote Japanese titles. Comic Con Africa attendees will experience games from 19 Japanese companies with over 30 titles to choose from.

 

The popular dedicated area on the show floor called Otaku Town (“Otaku” being an enduring term for fans of anime and Japanese pop culture, literally translating to “geek”) is back with a new name. Otaku Town has been renamed to Poptaku Town, combining pop culture and otaku, which highlights an all-encompassing offering for pop culture fans.

 

Post-Comic Con Africa, an online/offline seminar will be held for South African and Japanese industry leaders to discuss how African businesses can obtain rights for Japanese characters, and anime shows, to merchandise licensed goods, including food and daily use items. The seminar will explore the business possibilities in IP licensing, share success stories, and how this can be profitable and grow local businesses.

 

To date, the partnership between JETRO and Comic Con Africa has been a success – resulting in 75 meetings being facilitated, and an outcome of 32 success cases across various sectors including content licensing, consumer product licensing, as well as licensed product imports.

 

We believe this year will grow on the previous years’ successes, by continuing to optimise the process of speaking to license holders in Japan and understanding what the local consumer wants.

 

Further information regarding the online/offline seminar will be released at Comic Con Africa.

 

-ENDS-

 

About Comic Con Africa

 

Comic Con Africa is the ultimate pop culture and gaming festival that is taking place from 28 to 31 August 2025 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre (Nasrec).

 

With the 6^th Year anniversary, Comic Con Africa offers fans a four-day experience of cosplay, international celebrities, autograph opportunities, photograph opportunities, gaming specials, eSports tournaments, fandom-focused merch, tabletop gaming, trading card games, anime, manga, Q&A sessions, screenings, activations, interactive experiences, and more – there is something for everyone to enjoy whether you are a casual fan or a bona fide geek. Bring the family along! Tickets are available on Howler.

 

https://www.comicconafrica.co.za

 

Press inquiries: press@comicconafrica.co.za

 

About JETRO

 

JETRO, or the Japan External Trade Organization, is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO's core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.

 

About Japan Street

 

JAPAN STREET is an online catalogue site that can be viewed only by a limited number of overseas buyers who are invited by JETRO. Once you become a registered member, you can search finest Japanese products on JAPAN STREET anytime anywhere!