Virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI becomes Japan tourism ambassador
The Japan National Tourism Organisation has tapped one of Japan’s rising YouTube stars to front its latest campaign.
Kizuna AI is not a real person but the world’s first virtual YouTuber, boasting more than 1.5 million subscribers.
The JNTO hopes to use this fan base to raise awareness of Japanese tourism and is also targeting the US market with the upcoming ‘Japan Week’ annual event.
The ‘Come to JAPAN’ campaign is part of the ‘Cool Japan’ initiative to showcase the country’s contemporary culture, which has highlighted everything from anime, J-Pop and ninja tourism.
There is a video series featuring Kizuna AI venturing across the country exploring food, fashion, the traditional arts, history and culture.
The first video has been uploaded to the JNTO site delving into Japanese food culture.
The site also features a quiz with prizes up for grabs and a lottery booth is being installed for Japan Week 2018 taking place at New York’s Grand Central Station from March 14-17, with a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to visit Japan.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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