New Original Programming from WAKUWAKU JAPAN “WAKUWAKU be Ponkickies” Broadcasting to Begin in March

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WAKUWAKU JAPAN CORPORATION (Headquarters: Minato Ward, Tokyo; President
& CEO: Masafumi Kawanishi) is set to begin broadcasting of a new,
original program, WAKUWAKU be Ponkickies, from Saturday, March
25, 2017, onward in Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Sri Lanka,
and Mongolia.

WAKUWAKU be Ponkickies will be a specially-created version of the
educational variety program for young children and infants currently
broadcast on BS Fuji TV, be Ponkickies. That program, which began on
Fuji Television in 1973 as Hirake! Ponkikki (Open Wide! It’s Ponkicky),
has continued to be a children’s favorite throughout the more than forty
years of iterations it has seen. WAKUWAKU JAPAN has undertaken, in
collaboration with FUJI TELEVISION KIDS ENTERTAINMENT, Inc., and
YURAYURA KICK, Inc., to edit be Ponkickies primarily into shorter
content, making it easier for children outside of Japan to understand.
There has also been an effort to create a segment within the program
that features WAKUWAKU JAPAN characters, named “Kana-s”, who can blend
seamlessly within the be Ponkickies format. These characters, formed
from the WAA and KUU Japanese katakana characters, will introduce
viewers to the katakana writing system with fun rhythms and music. They
will bring a new, fun, learning experience to children across the globe,
together with many adorable characters and animations.

Japan’s children’s educational programming is well-received abroad for
the structure and quality imagery employed within the programming. There
have been a lot of audience needs for educational programming for
children that parents not only feel safe when the children watch, but
that also help form an educational foundation as they grow. This new
programming is designed to meet those needs and will additionally serve
to share a variety of Japanese experiences, using superlative
educational and entertainment content, and incorporating
program-external business, including merchandising that takes advantage
of the characters that appear within the show.

WAKUWAKU JAPAN CORPORATION Profile
Company Name: WAKUWAKU
JAPAN CORPORATION
Address: 7F Akasaka Enokizaka Building, 1-7-1
Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052
Established: May 1, 2015
Capital:
5.5 billion yen
President & CEO: Masafumi Kawanishi
Major
shareholder: SKY Perfect JSAT 60%, Cool Japan Fund Inc. 40%
Official
site: http://www.wakuwakujapan.tv/
Countries
and regions currently broadcasting:
Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore,
Thailand, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Mongolia

Contacts

Inquiry:
WAKUWAKU JAPAN CORPORATION
Tomoko Karasawa and Minyi
Ren
Email: info@wakuwakujapan.com
Tel:
+81 3 5571 6880