Tuesday, October 14, 2008

PART FIVE
Seiji Horibuchi, Founder & Co-Chairman, Viz Media LLC

Beginning with a small manga publishing company in San Francisco’s SOMA more than 20 years ago, Seiji Horibuchi laid the foundation for multimedia company Viz Media, a powerhouse in manga, anime and pop culture merchandising. He will discuss the creation of the J-Pop boom in America as construction proceeds on the new Viz J-Pop Center in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Seiji Horibuchi moved to the US in 1975 right after graduation from Waseda University and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. He founded Viz Communications, Inc. in 1986, with the help of Shogakukan, Inc., one of Japan’s leading publishers. Viz Communications was the forerunner of the company now known as Viz Media, LLC where Mr. Horibuchi serves as Founder/Co-Chairman. He founded Viz Pictures, Inc. in 2005 as a spin off company of Viz Media, LLC, which promotes Japanese films for American audiences. Throughout his career, Mr. Horibuchi has devoted himself to developing Japanese pop culture in the US.

Time:
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
12:00-1:30 pm
Please arrive no later than 12:10 pm.

Location:
Viz Media LLC
295 Bay Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

Cost:
$35 Members
$50 Non-Members
Lunch will be provided, courtesy of Viz Media.

The deadline to RSVP for this event is Tuesday, October 7. Refunds will not be made after this date.

About the series…
At the Japan Society of Northern California our Board of Directors is one of our greatest strengths. Drawn from all corners of the business world, they are all experts in their respective fields. It is with great pleasure that we offer you a chance to tap into that unique fund of knowledge and expertise in our inaugural Japan Society Zadankai (roundtable) series.

Over the next five months, the Zadankai series will bring you five intimate discussions, on five topics, with five members of our Board. Participation in each discussion will be limited to approximately 15 people to ensure a truly roundtable conversation.

Click on the links below to find out about the other parts of this exciting series!
Part One: Green Investing
Part Two: Conflicts & Cooperation in the Semiconductor Industry
Part Three: Japan & US Cross-border M&A
Part Four: Sources of Japan’s Future Growth