Animators, game designers, Filmmakers, musicians, fashion designers, broadcasters and others at the cutting edge of Japanese popular culture are preparing to converge on venues throughout Japan to participate in this year’s CoFesta, the Japan International Contents Festival.

Beginning today and running through until mid-December, CoFesta 2012 will bring together participants from around Japan and across the world to showcase their latest endeavors – everything from manga characters to robotics – and exchange ideas and explore new business opportunities.

“This will undoubtedly be the world’s largest trade fair for creative content of all types,” CoFesta 2012 Executive Committee Chairman, Mr. Nobuyoshi Otani said, adding that last year’s CoFesta attracted some 2.3 million participants to festival-related events.

Featuring eighteen official and eleven partner events in Tokyo and around Japan, CoFesta 2012 will provide an opportunity for generating new content-related businesses linked to such networked media as social networking sites and smart TV.

As part of CoFesta, four special market events will open next month, namely the 9th Tokyo International Music Market, the TIFFCOM 2012 Marketplace for Film & TV in Asia, the Tokyo International Anime Festival, and Creative Market Tokyo 2012. A Grand Ceremony for CoFesta 2012 will also be held on October 24 at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo featuring Japanese pop idols Nogizaka 46.

Though positioned as a celebration of Japanese creativity and artistic talent, CoFesta’s brief is to help build business ties. As such, it melds seamlessly with the Japanese government's “Rebirth of Japan” policy approved last July that identified the content-related field with its international influence as one of great importance to Japan's future economic development.

CoFesta 2012 will offer a chance for participants to parade their unique creative content. It will help them pursue new business opportunities and form connections that break down barriers between specialties, and will match interested parties in international collaborations.