We are an industry group that aims to develop
and foster a “license business”
that utilizes IP such as character brands.
We are an industry group that aims to develop
and foster a “license business”
that utilizes IP such as character brands.
CBLA (Character Brand Licensing Association) was established in January, 2014, an association whose members are involved in the business of licensing copyrights, trademarks, and designs and other intellectual property for products and services.
While benefiting individual brand licensing businesses through
its educational, research, and support activities, it also pursues the larger aim of growing the licensing business as a whole.
In pursuit of these objectives, CBLA engages in the following types of activities.
CBLA is divided into four divisions, whose primary responsibilities are supporting creators, sharing global business information, strengthening marketing skills, and expanding networks for industry firms. CBLA organizes workshops, seminars and symposia in response to member requests.
In addition, working groups set up within each of the four divisions engage in activities whose aim is to grow member companies’ business.
Themed division activity
Creative: Supporting creator’s licensing skill and bring them into business field
Global: Extend licensing opportunity inbound/outbound
Marketing: Sharing valuable and fresh market information
Digital: Collect and share digital trend marketing information
The Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA) is a licensing industry organization founded to promote the value of the licensing business, for businesses that use characters, brands, and other intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, and registered concepts in their products and services, and to contribute to the sound advancement of the brand licensing industry.
With digital networks now reaching almost everywhere, industry structures and lifestyles are changing. More than ever before, intellectual property is becoming the core of value creation. In that context, characters created in Japan are providing ever larger numbers of people with energy and assurance through products and services that are bringing smiles to a growing circle of people worldwide. Our industry is playing, together with the new Cool Japan strategy, a vital role in the contents field.
CBLA is the leading licensing industry organization in Japan, a character superpower. It collects information about the characters and brands cultivated by companies in the industry, provides insights through each of its divisions for the further development of the licensing business in Japan, and creates networking opportunities for members to connect their businesses. For CBLA, worldwide expansion of Japan’s licensing business is a major challenge for the industry. We are actively pursuing that expansion in coordination with Japan’s intellectual property strategy, epitomized by Cool Japan.
A distinctive feature of CBLA is that it is not merely an organization for executives but rather an association where members actively work for the development of the industry. It continuously engages in activities to solve various issues, transcending industry boundaries through mutual cooperation with other industries and organizations.
Guided by the voices of its members, CBLA is committed to making further strides in the development of the licensing business industry. With your cooperation, we will progress together towards a future in which the licensing business flourishes. I am profoundly grateful for your support and cooperation.
| Group Name | Character Brand Licensing Association |
| Founding Date | January 2014 |
| Location | 2-10 Kandaogawamachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0052 Japan C/O Nihon Keizai Advertising Co., Ltd. |
| Phone | 03-5282-8105 |
| Fax | 03-5282-8096 |
| Url | http://cbla.jp/ |
| info@cbla.jp | |
| Activity |
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For the purpose of expanding Japan IP globally, CBLA organizes “Japan Pavilion” with qualified Japanese contents through major International Licensing Shows, such as:
annual participation since 2014
annual participation since 2017
annual participation since 2018 ※exhibitors=associate creator members
| Chairman | Tomokuni Tsuji Sanrio Company, Ltd. / President and CEO |
| Vice chairman | Yoichi Kawakami SPIRALCUTE, INC / President |
| Vice chairman | Keisuke Watanabe Sony Creative Products Inc. / Executive Officer |
| Managing Director | Kazuo Rikukawa CHARACTER DATABANK Co. / President |
| Executive Director | Akira Takayama Fanworks Inc. / President |
| Executive Director | Daiki Aizawa LEMONA DESIGN / President |
| Executive Director | Hitomi Hiratsuka Nippon Animation Co.,Ltd. / Director |
| Executive Director | Kensuke Kondo MindWorks Entertainment Inc. / Representative Director |
| Executive Director | Nobuhiro Niwa NIHON KEIZAI ADVERTISING CO.,LTD. / President |
| Executive Director | Setsuko Maehara Nakajima Corporation/ Executive Director |
| Executive Director | Takehiro Suzuki Matsuya Co., Ltd. / Content Business Department Manager |
| Executive Director | Teruo Koibuchi Kamio Japan Corporation / Director of Sales Division |
| Executive Director | Tom Kanayama Taito Corporation / Chief of the President's Office and Brand Manager of SPACE INVADERS |
| Executive Director | Toshihiko Omuro StylingLife Holdings Inc. PLAZASTYLE COMPANY / Director of the Licensing Business Division |
| Executive Director | Yasuyuki Otsuka Sanrio Company, Ltd. / Managing Director |
| Executive Director | Yuichi Kawakami Omusubi Company, Inc. / Representative Director |
| Executive Director | Yuki Hatano SEKIGUCHI co.,LTD / Marketing Department Senior Manager |
| Auditor | Shigeo Kakuta Attenda International Patent Firm / Representative employee |
| Honorary chairman | Aiichiro Furukawa LoveOne Communications Co., Ltd. ／ President |
| Executive Advisor | Andy Y.Toyama Brand Management Partners ／ Proprietor |
| Advisor | Jun Kikyo S Crear Corporation ／ President |
| Advisor | Wataru Kubo |
| Secretary general | Takehito Oonagi NIHON KEIZAI ADVERTISING CO.,LTD. ／ Promotion Division Manager |
| Secretariat | Yousuke Sato NIHON KEIZAI ADVERTISING CO.,LTD. ／ Promotion Divison Department Manager |
