Shochoku Co., Ltd. launched on Oct. 24 a multilingual social community for Kabuki fans around the world on a multilingual social media site, OKWave Thank You, where users are able to communicate in 20 languages. It is part of efforts by the operator of Kabukiza Theatre to expand its services for foreigners.

Kabuki is a form of Japanese traditional performing art with over 400 years of history that attracts attention not only in Japan but also abroad. The newly-launched international community site of Ginza Kabukiza, a complex including Kabukiza Theatre and Kabukiza Tower office building, provides a place where Kabuki fans from around the world can get together virtually and exchange information beyond language barriers. Tips for how to enjoy Kabuki and other features of Ginza Kabukiza are posted in different languages on the website along with other information.

OKWave Thank You, run by Tokyo-based online communities operator OKWave, is a multilingual community in which users translate posts of other users by themselves. Users can also log in to their OKWave Thank You accounts and use the services with IDs for other social networking services-- Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ -- free of charge.

Also, Shochiku, together with OKWave, plans to hold projects exclusive to the website and O2O (online to offline) events for foreigners residing in Japan to promote the charms and understanding of Kabukiza Theatre.

The two companies have been promoting Japanese films to overseas markets through efforts such as the collaboration between OKWave Thank You and Cinema's by Shochiku, an official fan community run by Shochiku on Facebook.

Shochiku and OKWave hope the launch of the multilingual social community site for Kabuki fans will contribute to expansion of international exchanges and mutual understandings in the international community as well.

English site: http://heart.okwave.com/en/communities/kabukiza/

Japanese site: http://heart.okwave.com/jp/communities/kabukiza/

About Shochoku Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1895, it is headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Its President/CEO is Jay Sakomoto. Shochiku Group is an entertainment corporate enterprise consisting of the divisions of Motion Picture, Theatre and Real Estate, as well as other divisions.

Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. (http://www.shochiku.com)