ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has acquired merchandising rights for the popular character, Npochamu, in the Asian region excluding Japan and South Korea, as well as in the North American region (U.S.A. and Canada).

The global anime and character market is significantly growing every year. The market size is expected to reach approximately 60.3 billion dollars by 2030 (the average annual growth rate from 2025 to 2030: 9.8％)^*1. Moreover, with the increasing use of social media in recent years, numerous characters have emerged from social media platforms and gained significant popularity, especially with Generation Z. As content recognition tends to increase quickly in a short time due to the ease with which users share content, there has been growing need for smooth overseas development, aiming to foster and expand content in the medium to long term.

The character Npochamu is very popular in Japan and internationally. It initially emerged from social media and was created by Kawaisou ni!. Reasons for the popularity are cute design, a pure and approachable character, and addictive and unique stories. It enjoys tremendous support from a wide range of age groups mainly including young people. Npochamu was ranked second, following Sanrio, in the 2024 Oshikatsu Next-trend Ranking, being expected to become more and more popular^*2.

Since the establishment of the Rights & Brands Asia Ltd., a joint venture in Hong Kong, in September 2021, which was created to engage in licensing businesses, as well as the opening of a Shanghai branch in May 2024, ITOCHU has been promoting the anime and character licensing business in the Asian market^*3. ITOCHU subsequently launched its anime and character licensing business in the North American market in May 2025. Through collaboration with its network and local partnerships, ITOCHU is accelerating the development of Japanese anime and character goods, such as Opanchu Usagi, as well as titles handled by SKY Perfect Pictures Inc.^*4, a company involved in anime production. ^*5
Leveraging its global network, ITOCHU aims to increase Npochamu's brand recognition in the Asian and North American regions by improving the product strategies through licensee companies and expanding its deployment in major retail markets.

ITOCHU has set its management policy with this theme: The Brand-new Deal - opportunities are shifting downstream –. Through this business, ITOCHU will gain knowledge and expertise in the licensing business to provide new products and services that meet the diverse needs of customers in the core consumer-related sector. ITOCHU also aims to further develop anime characters across the globe.