Tokyo, Japan. October 16^th, 2018.  KCJ Group Co. Ltd., KidZania’s operator in Japan, and KDDI Corporation, mobile carrier company, will work together to further create edutainment experiences that will enrich children’s future in that market.

As Makoto Takahashi, President and Representative Director of KDDI mentioned: “With this partnership, we’ll combine KCJ Group’s experience in edutainment and KDDI’s expertise in advanced technologies to support the empowerment of children, nurture their curiosity and encourage them to learn about the world of work in a fun way.”

 This extensive partnership focuses on three key objectives. First, both organizations will originate learning opportunities that will encourage kids to develop their skills through advanced technologies, like 5g or IoT. Moreover, these new role-playing activities will further improve the experiential value of all the establishments at KidZania.

Einosuke Sumitani, President and CEO of KCJ Group stated: “Through an all-embracing partnership with a top-level information and communication company as KDDI, and by actively incorporating a global business perspective, we are aiming to assist in the development of the generation that will be in charge of the next era, and will be capable of contributing to the international community in a positive way.”

This partnership also aims to contribute to KidZania’s development in Japan by promoting a closer collaboration with local governmental institutions and develop regional programs that highlight traditional industrial experiences in this territory. Furthermore, both organizations will encourage the collaboration between advanced technologies and primary industries in role-playing activities that emphasize on the best features of every sector, while delivering top-quality edutainment experiences for children aged 1-14.

Another exciting result of this venture is KidZania’s expansion in Japan with plans to open a third KidZania City in this territory, in Nagoya (Aichi Prefecture), by 2020. This facility joins 12 other KidZania Metropolis in different stages of development around the world, in countries like Qatar, South Africa, France, Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Costa Rica, among others.

Both companies will work hand in hand to continue strengthening KidZania’s positioning in Japan and continue developing edutainment experiences that will enrich their hearts and minds while getting them ready to become committed global citizens.

* As of October 1, 2018, KDDI acquired the majority of KCJ GROUP’s shares.

About KDDI

KDDI, is a Fortune Global 500 company and one of Asia’s largest telecommunications providers. It has a proven global track record of high-quality service delivery. KDDI provides several services, including mobile phone services, fixed-line communication, and data centers, thus making it one of the top solution providers for telecommunications and IT.

About KCJ Group

KCJ GROUP opened “KidZania Tokyo” in October 2006, “KidZania Koshien” in March 2009 and have welcomed approximately 17 million customers since then. KidZania is an interactive kids’ city combining inspiration, fun and learning through realistic role-play for children between the ages of 1 till 14 years old. We will continue to aim for a true-edutainment, empowering experience for children by developing their “power to live” in the real world. For more information about “KidZania Japan”, please visit us here (http://www.kidzania.jp/ ).