GREE and Yahoo! Japan to Support Tokyo 2020 as Official Bid Partners- Joint Promotional Campaign Starts in Japan Today -

TOKYO, Japan–December 21, 2012–GREE, Inc. (“GREE”) and Yahoo Japan Corporation (“Yahoo! Japan”) today announced that they have enlisted as official partners for Tokyo 2020, Japan's bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. GREE and Yahoo! Japan also announced that they will jointly support the bid through a major promotional campaign that rolls out from December 26 in media advertisements, subway stations and other communication channels.

For the campaign, GREE and Yahoo! Japan have jointly created a dedicated online portal to which Olympic athletes from Japan, celebrities and other public figures will post public pledges to show their support for the Tokyo 2020 bid. Accessible on smartphones and feature phones(*) as well as desktops, the portal will include feeds linked with the GREE social networking service as well as Twitter and Facebook. GREE and Yahoo! Japan will use the Internet-based campaign to support and raise public awareness of the Tokyo 2020 bid until the host of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is selected on September 7, 2013, while providing an engaging tool that the public can use to lend their support.

Manabu Miyasaka, President and CEO of Yahoo! Japan, said: “Yahoo! Japan will fully support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Bid as a Problem Solving Engine. Under our slogan ‘what can the Internet do for Japan,’ we look forward to continue providing a unique service that enables people to share and express their passion for the Olympics and Paralympics. By leveraging the Internet's unique interactive capabilities, we intend to unite people's passion for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Yahoo! Japan is committed to creating an exciting and engaging communication environment for all sports fans.”

Yoshikazu Tanaka, Founder and CEO of GREE, Inc., said: “Hosting the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo would bring a major boost to Japan's economy and industry, but not only that: it would give people in Japan a new dream and a renewed sense of optimism, and provide an arena for showcasing Japan's cultural and technological strengths to the world. At GREE we are firm believers in the values guiding the Olympic Movement, which reaches beyond borders and cultural differences to bring people around the world together in peace. We're excited to be working with the Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee and Yahoo! Japan to bring the Games to Tokyo and play our part in making this vision a reality.”

*Viewing the pledges will partially be limited and posting will be not be available on feature phones

Screenshots of Tanoshii Koyaku Project

Overview of promotional campaign

Official name Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Bid Promotion Tanoshii Koyaku Project
Website http://www.ko-yaku2020.jp
Period Friday, December 21, 2012 to Saturday, September 7, 2013
Outline In hope of bringing Olympic Spirit to Tokyo, Olympic national team members and celebrities will make public pledges, which will then be posted to a dedicated portal maintained by Yahoo! Japan and GREE and promoted through media advertisements, subway stations and other communication channels
Campaign pledgers Naoki Inose (Governor of Tokyo), Tsunekazu Takeda (President of Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee), Homare Sawa (Olympian), Saori Yoshida (Olympian), Ryota Murata (Olympian), Terry Ito (TV Producer), Masatoshi Hamada (Downtown), Takuro Morinaga (financial analyst), Manabu Miyasaka (President and CEO,Yahoo Japan Corporation), Yoshikazu Tanaka (Founder and CEO, GREE, Inc.), and many others
Public project
  • Members of the public can create and post their own pledges for display on a dedicated portal
  • A number of pledges will be selected by lottery, following which winning entrants will be invited to pledge achievement events to be held by the celebrity pledgers in the event of Tokyo winning the 2020 bid

For further information on the campaign, please refer to the dedicated portal. (Details of the planned activities may be changed without notice.)

About GREE, Inc.

GREE is a global mobile social gaming company at the forefront of mobile technology. GREE is focused on building the world's leading mobile social gaming ecosystem, while creating and supporting unique free-to-play game content. GREE is continuing to expand globally and has offices in Tokyo, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Seoul, Beijing, Amsterdam, Dubai, Sao Paolo, and Vancouver.

GREE and the GREE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of GREE, Inc. in Japan and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Press Contacts
GREE, Inc. PR
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: jp-pr@gree.net
URL: https://corp.gree.net/jp/en/
Twitter: @GREE_pr_jp
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