ASOBISYSTEM, the Tokyo entertainment company that has spent close to two decades exporting Harajuku culture, has established a US subsidiary.
ASOBISYSTEM U.S.A. INC. is headquartered in Culver City, California, and will handle business development, partnerships, marketing, publicity and artist support across North America.
ASOBISYSTEM calls the launch its biggest investment yet in North America, and a permanent base for the J-pop acts it has been sending on tour across the United States.
Leading the subsidiary is Yusuke Nakagawa, who founded ASOBISYSTEM in 2007 and will keep his role as CEO of the company’s Japan headquarters.
Nakagawa is credited with helping popularize the aomoji-kei fashion movement, and sits on the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat’s Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform.
“We’ve seen incredible growth in global interest for Japanese entertainment over the last several years, and we believe now is the right time to establish a permanent presence in the United States,” said Nakagawa.
“Our goal is not only to create more opportunities for our own artists, but to help build lasting connections between Japan and North America by supporting creators, companies, and partners on both sides.”
Yusuke Nakagawa, ASOBISYSTEM
“Our goal is not only to create more opportunities for our own artists, but to help build lasting connections between Japan and North America by supporting creators, companies, and partners on both sides.”
The choice of Culver City puts ASOBISYSTEM inside one of Los Angeles’s densest entertainment and technology clusters.
Sony Pictures has anchored the district since 1990, and Apple, Amazon MGM Studios, TikTok and HBO have all opened offices there.
Apple Music runs a studio in the city, and Beats, the Apple-owned audio brand, is headquartered there.
Spotify‘s Los Angeles base sits across town in Downtown LA’s Arts District, alongside Warner Music Group – putting the streaming services, TikTok and the studios within reach of ASOBISYSTEM‘s new office.
The launch lands as Japan‘s music business pushes to grow overseas, after years anchored in one of the world’s richest domestic markets.
Japan is the second-largest recorded music market in the world, according to the IFPI‘s 2026 report, and streaming is widening the reach of its artists.
Japanese-language music’s share of the world’s Top 10,000 streaming tracks climbed to 2.1% in 2023 from 1.3% a year earlier, according to Luminate.
Those figures were reported by MBW in 2025, when ASOBISYSTEM partnered with Singapore-based investment firm blackx to widen J-pop’s global reach.
In that deal, blackx‘s Japan head Hiroki Shirasuka pointed to “unprecedented global momentum for J-Pop.”
The expansion builds on ASOBISYSTEM‘s artists gaining traction in the US.
ATARASHII GAKKO!, the four-member group that made its worldwide debut in 2021 through US label 88rising, appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024 and completed a North American tour that year.
The group returns to the US this fall for the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle in September 2026.
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who debuted in 2011, has completed multiple North American tours.
The roster also includes producer Yasutaka Nakata, of the electronic duo CAPSULE, who wrote New Genesis – the Ado single from the film One Piece Film: Red.
The company’s newer KAWAII LAB. project, home to the seven-member group FRUITS ZIPPER, runs under the mission “From Harajuku to the World.”
ASOBISYSTEM‘s US footprint already includes the New York restaurant SUSHIDELIC, designed by the company’s artist Sebastian Masuda.
ASOBISYSTEM‘s move follows, on a smaller scale, the route K-pop‘s companies took into Western markets.
HYBE, the South Korean company behind BTS, spent USD $1.05 billion to acquire Scooter Braun’s US-based Ithaca Holdings in 2021, folding a Western management company and its roster into a newly formed HYBE America.
Braun took a seat on HYBE‘s board, giving the company on-the-ground US relationships that BTS and its other acts could tap.
ASOBISYSTEM is opening an office rather than acquiring a company, but it frames the goal in similar terms – “building infrastructure on the ground” and partnerships inside the market.
The launch is part of a wider effort by Japanese music companies to build their own infrastructure in international markets.
Avex, one of Japan’s biggest music companies, expanded into North America with a US arm spanning publishing, labels and venture investment.
A cluster of Japan’s next-generation companies – including ASOBISYSTEM, SKY-HI‘s BMSG and And Music, the home of rapper Awich – is among the backers of Nebula17, the Los Angeles company launched in 2025 by former Avex USA CEO Naoki Osada to break Japanese talent in the US.
Alongside its own roster, ASOBISYSTEM USA will offer representation, business development, PR and consulting to Japanese companies expanding abroad, and act as an entry point for North American brands, promoters and media seeking Japanese talent.
ASOBISYSTEM describes the US headquarters as a long-term investment in the future of Japanese entertainment.Music Business Worldwide
ASOBISYSTEM, a prominent Tokyo-based entertainment company known for exporting Harajuku culture for nearly two decades, has taken a significant step by establishing a subsidiary in the United States, named ASOBISYSTEM U.S.A. INC. The new office is located in Culver City, California, a strategic choice that places it within one of Los Angeles’s most vibrant entertainment and technology hubs. The company views this launch as its largest investment in North America to date, marking a permanent base for the J-pop artists it has been promoting through tours across the United States.
The subsidiary will be led by Yusuke Nakagawa, the founder of ASOBISYSTEM, who continues to serve as CEO of the parent company in Japan. Nakagawa has played a pivotal role in popularizing the aomoji-kei fashion movement and is involved with the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat’s Cool Japan Public-Private Partnership Platform. He stated that there has been a remarkable increase in global interest in Japanese entertainment, making now the ideal time to secure a permanent presence in the U.S. His vision for ASOBISYSTEM U.S.A. INC. includes not only creating opportunities for its artists but also fostering long-lasting connections between Japan and North America by supporting creators and partners on both sides.
Culver City is home to major entertainment players, including Sony Pictures, Apple, Amazon, and TikTok, making it an advantageous location for ASOBISYSTEM. This proximity to influential companies and platforms is seen as beneficial for business development, partnerships, marketing, publicity, and artist support in the North American market. The timing of ASOBISYSTEM’s expansion coincides with Japan’s efforts to increase its music industry’s footprint internationally. Currently, Japan holds the position of the second-largest recorded music market globally, and recent statistics indicate that the share of Japanese-language music in the world’s Top 10,000 streaming tracks has significantly increased, reflecting its growing global reach.
ASOBISYSTEM has already seen success with some of its artists in the U.S. market. For example, the group ATARASHII GAKKO!, which debuted globally in 2021 under the U.S. label 88rising, performed at the prestigious Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2024 and has completed a North American tour. They are scheduled to return to the U.S. for the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle in September 2026. Other notable artists from ASOBISYSTEM include Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who has also toured North America multiple times, and Yasutaka Nakata, a producer known for his work with the electronic duo CAPSULE. The newer KAWAII LAB. project, featuring the seven-member group FRUITS ZIPPER, embodies the mission of taking Harajuku culture to a global audience.
ASOBISYSTEM’s presence in the U.S. is not entirely new; it previously opened SUSHIDELIC, a New York restaurant designed by one of its artists, Sebastian Masuda. The establishment of ASOBISYSTEM U.S.A. INC. mirrors the strategies adopted by K-pop companies, which have made significant inroads into Western markets. Notably, HYBE, the company behind BTS, made headlines when it invested over $1 billion in acquiring Ithaca Holdings in 2021, which allowed it to integrate a U.S.-based management company and its roster into the newly formed HYBE America. While ASOBISYSTEM is not acquiring a company, it aims to build infrastructure in the market and foster partnerships to support its artists.
This move is part of a broader trend among Japanese music companies to establish their own infrastructure in international markets. Avex, another major player in Japan’s music industry, has expanded into North America with a subsidiary that encompasses publishing, labels, and venture investments. Additionally, ASOBISYSTEM is among several next-generation Japanese companies, including SKY-HI’s BMSG and And Music, that are collaborating with Nebula17, a Los Angeles-based company founded in 2025 by former Avex USA CEO Naoki Osada, aimed at breaking Japanese talent into the U.S. market.
Beyond promoting its own artists, ASOBISYSTEM U.S.A. INC. plans to provide representation, business development, public relations, and consulting services to Japanese companies seeking to expand internationally. It will also serve as a gateway for North American brands, promoters, and media looking to collaborate with Japanese talent. The establishment of this U.S. headquarters is characterized as a long-term investment in the future of Japanese entertainment, emphasizing ASOBISYSTEM’s commitment to fostering cultural exchange and collaborations between Japan and North America.
Overall, ASOBISYSTEM’s expansion into the U.S. represents a strategic initiative to capitalize on the growing global interest in Japanese culture and entertainment, enhancing the opportunities for its artists while promoting bilateral connections in the creative industry.
