VIZ Pictures, a Japanese live-action film distributor and producer of the J-Pop Center Project, adds a new dimension to San Francisco with the opening of New People in the heart of the city’s historic Japantown.

This unique entertainment destination will feature the latest examples of Japanese popular culture expressed though film, art, fashion, and a variety of specialty boutiques and ongoing monthly events.

The project, three-and-a-half years in the making, celebrates its grand opening this summer with an all-day outdoor music and performance event and gala to be held on Aug. 15. Specific details will be announced shortly.

A dedicated web site is also now available at www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

New People is a 20,000-square-foot contemporary building located at 1746 Post St. in San Francisco Japantown (one of only three remaining in the country), an area steeped in more than a century of history. The structure features a three-floor transparent glass façade intended to evoke a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination for the 21st century.

With three stories above and a basement cinema below, New People will offer the latest films, art, and retail brands from Japan. The spacious 143-seat underground cinema space will be equipped with cutting-edge high-definition digital projection and THX-certified sound.

Its core focus will be on some of the latest and hottest films from Japan, as well as a legacy of classics, documentaries and anime, making it the only cinema of its type in the U.S. These genres are among the most recognizable examples of Japanese pop culture
and have captured the world’s attention.

New People will also feature an entire floor devoted to several distinctive, trend-setting clothing labels from Japan, including Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (Tokyo), Black Peace Now (Tokyo), 6% DOKIDOKI (Tokyo), and a short-term rotating storefront to showcase a new brand every two to three months.

These shops will all mark their U.S. retail debut at New People. Baby, Black Peace Now, and 6% are pioneers of Harajuku street fashion, which has turned this vibrant district of Tokyo into an internationally respected fashion Mecca.

New People will also tout a café featuring organic roast Blue Bottle Coffee and Japanese delicatessen Delica rf-1; an inventive New People retail store; and a 2,000-square-foot art gallery providing an important showcase for a new generation of artists inspired by Japanese pop culture.

The opening exhibit is expected to draw worldwide interest not only from anime fans but also serious collectors of Japanese pop art.

“New People is a truly unique space devoted to creativity and self expression, and will become a cultural destination unlike any other in the United States,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the founder and CEO of VIZ Pictures and the founder of VIZ Media as well as the J-Pop Center Project. “New People will help nurture Japanese pop culture and also connect the public with its diverse creators.

“As North America continues to embrace a variety of hip trends from Japan, we look forward to expanding the vision of New People globally through film, art and other multimedia and forging innovative cross-cultural creative partnerships.”

Regarding the new name, Mika Anami of VIZ Pictures told the Hokubei Mainichi, “This has been something we have been brainstorming for a while. With the concept of our building coming together, and with all aspects — cinema, gallery, cafe, shop, retailers from Japan — starting to show its color, we were able to conclude such a name.

“ ‘J-pop center’ is a term we still use. For example, New People is a J-pop center and it is part of the J-Pop Center Project that is produced by VIZ Pictures ...

“New People is a name and term we particularly like. As a name of the building, it is fresh, inviting and open. New People as a term points to people, a place, and a medium that are communicating newness and universality through, in our case, Japanese pop culture. San Franciscans, particularly, are a good example of open and curious people that will most likely welcome our concept.”