The J-POP Summit was a Japanese cultural festival held every Summer in San Francisco, CA focusing on both the mainstream and niche aspects of Japanese culture, with a focus on Japanese Pop music. It was held from 2009 to 2014 as a free event in SF's Japantown and from 2015 to 2017 as a paid event at the Fort Mason Center. Some notable performers that came to the event include Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in 2013 and 2016, Tokyo Girls' Style in 2014 and Band-Maid in 2017. It was then canceled in 2018 due to "unforeseen circumstances in regards to our festival venue," and was never held since, especially after the pandemic.

With the COVID-19 Pandemic largely over, Japan's travel restrictions finally lifted and Crunchyroll Expo in San Jose canceled for the foreseeable future, I would like to ask the Founder of VIZ Media and Head of NEW PEOPLE, the organizing group behind the event, Seiji Horibuchi, as well as the other decision makers listed in this petition such as SF Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Director of ASOBISYSTEM Yusuke Nakagawa to please consider bringing back the J-POP Summit. 

As it is becoming more expensive these days to hold an event in San Francisco, if it cannot be held at the Fort Mason Center, Japantown or anywhere else in the city, alternatively, it can be held in the South Bay at either the Santa Clara or San Jose Convention Centers. For the latter, it would be more accessible for people to come to the event from all over the Bay Area and beyond through various public transportation options, and it can fill in the void for that other conventions in the South Bay like Crunchyroll Expo and SiliCon left since their cancelations. 

As the petition organizer, I am a huge enthusiast in Japanese culture, both in traditional and pop culture and I remember going to my first and only J-POP Summit when it was free in Japantown in 2013 when I did not have an interest in anime or anything else from Japanese culture at the time, and I enjoyed my time there, because my younger sister was a huge fan of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu at the time. I was excited to go for the 2018 one, until I was saddened when I heard about the event's cancellation that year.

By bringing back the J-POP Summit, it can introduce the latest Japanese pop culture trends, both popular and niche to both long-time J-Pop Summit goers and to those who haven't been to the event before, and it can help revitalize the Bay Area's economy in further recovering from the pandemic, foster cultural ties and provide an opportunity for Japanese companies to promote their products and services to the U.S. market.

We hope that the staff at NEW PEOPLE, as well as the decision makers listed in this petition can one day consider making a comeback for the J-POP Summit so that we can enjoy the many aspects of Japanese culture, more than just anime and manga, and see J-Pop groups perform in the Bay Area every Summer.