From left: Yusuke Tanaka (Cabinet Office), Tetsuya Kubo (NAKED, Inc.), Koumei Sasaki (Red Cliff), and Kenichi Watanabe (CJPF Director).
Invited to Speak at CJPF LAB on the “Potential of Nighttime Cool Japan from a Technology Perspective”
Red Cliff Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Koumei Sasaki; hereafter “Red Cliff”), a company specializing in drone show operations, has announced its participation as a cooperating member of the Cabinet Office’s “Cool Japan” Public-Private Partnership Platform (CJPF) (*1).
As part of this initiative, Red Cliff was invited to speak at the CJPF LAB event, “Potential of Nighttime Cool Japan from a Technology Perspective,” held on September 24, 2025. During the presentation, titled “The Future of Cool Japan in the Sky,” Red Cliff introduced a new model for tourism and regional revitalization that utilizes the night sky, along with its unique drone performance technology.
The CJPF LAB event, “Potential of Nighttime Cool Japan from a Technology Perspective,” was attended by approximately 100 people from across the country, including officials from local governments, tourism, and cultural facilities.
During the presentation, Red Cliff CEO Sasaki discussed the potential for strengthening regional tourism and utilizing drone shows at municipal events, proposing a new regional revitalization model that positions the night sky as a distinctive new stage.
Regional Revitalization Model Using Drone Shows
Utilization of Nighttime Tourism Resources:
We develop narrative-driven performances utilizing the night sky at locations such as temples and shrines, waterfronts, ports, parks, and stadiums. These become new nighttime programs that enhance visitor circulation and contribute to longer stays and increased accommodation demand.
Securing Funding and Sustainability:
By displaying corporate logos or “Drone Show QR®” (*2) via drones, we guide audiences to digital campaigns. This leads to product purchases or the use of tourism services, establishing a funding model shared by organizers, sponsors, and tourism consumption, thus enabling sustainable event operation.
Economic Ripple Effects and Regional Creation:
In addition to increasing secondary consumption (accommodation, food and beverage, transportation, etc.) from nighttime events, performances leveraging Japanese IP (Intellectual Property) such as anime and games stimulate regional creation and inbound tourism demand. By linking these shows with unique local IP and cultural resources, the economic impact is expanded to include accommodation demand and wider-area tourism.
Sky Rights and Intellectual Property:
We promote value creation through “Sky Performance Rights” by utilizing the night sky as a new media space. This positions cultural resources and nighttime spaces as intellectual property, developing the Nighttime Economy into a sustainable revenue model.
Brand Enhancement and Overseas Expansion:
This model enhances the brand power of local governments that adopt advanced tourism models. It strengthens the ripple effect from SNS promotion and inbound attraction, and disseminates drone shows—fused with Japanese IP—as “Comprehensive Aerial Entertainment” to the international market.
Select Case Studies (Regional × Nighttime)
We have successfully implemented projects that combine our drone shows with sponsorship opportunities at major regional events, including the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival, the Sendai Tanabata Fireworks Festival, and the Kanmon Kaikyo Fireworks Festival.
Going forward, we plan to roll out this model to a diverse range of events, such as anniversary celebrations and regional festivals.
Summary of Comments by CEO Koumei Sasaki
“The drone show is a new kind of regional resource that can simultaneously monetize tourism, culture, and advertising through collaboration between government, private sectors, and creative talent. They have proven highly effective for gathering sponsorships and are frequently requested by residents to continue at festivals and firework events, contributing significantly to the revitalization of local events post-pandemic.
Moving forward, we plan to utilize untapped nighttime spaces, such as national parks and over the sea, to create new ‘Made-in-Japan’ tourism content alongside local communities. Furthermore, by centering our efforts on drone shows fused with Japanese IP, we aim to establish the nighttime economy as intellectual property, driving regional revitalization and inbound demand creation, with the ultimate goal of expanding into the global market.”
At the CJPF presentation, Red Cliff demonstrated the funding model and tourism ripple effects achieved by utilizing the night sky for tourism and regional revitalization, presenting it as a successful case study for nighttime tourism programs. Going forward, we will actively collaborate with local governments and tourism operators to expand this model nationwide and overseas, thereby vigorously promoting regional revitalization and the growth of the Nighttime Economy.
Notes
*1: About CJPF The CJPF (Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform) is a government-led (Cabinet Office) collaborative forum where stakeholders from government, corporations, culture, and tourism gather to promote the implementation and partnership needed to strengthen outreach both domestically and internationally.
*2: About “Drone Show QR®” “Drone Show QR®” is a registered trademark of Red Cliff Co., Ltd.
