Success story - Interview with Yusuke Nakagawa, CEO and founder of Asobi System

"About ten years ago, when I was still a young man and just wanted to have fun, I used to organise parties. I would invite bands to come and make my friends and my friends' friends dance. Gradually, thanks to the success of these events, I began to think about going into production and artist management, while continuing to plan parties and fashion shows. So in 2007, Asobisystem was born. In Japanese, Asobi means 'to play', 'to have fun'. Adults also use this verb when they want to do something other than work. So I launched this business, first in Setagaya Ward, then in Harajuku, a very creative district.

Today, we represent around twenty musicians and groups, as well as forty or so 'dokusha models' - young, stylish girls whose success can be meteoric. They start out by creating offbeat fashion blogs. One of those we launched, Kyary Panyu-Panyu, dresses up and shows off her comical looks without worrying about her femininity. That's what makes her so successful. She has over three million followers and Katy Perry calls her an inspiration. But the one who launched us was Capsule, an ultra-famous group here, who found their success in the mid-90s. It has to be said that I have surrounded myself with around fifty people whose expertise is enormous. Our secret: we're not very hierarchical and everyone brings their own solutions to the group. My aim now is to strengthen our creative community in Japan, but also to export it through our Moshi Moshi Nippon branch, which we presented at Hyper Japan in London and at Japan Expo in Paris.

asobisystem.com - moshimoshi-nippon.jp