NEW PEOPLE ANNOUNCES DATES FOR

THE 2013 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL AND

THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST

SAN FRANCISCO JAPAN FILM FESTIVAL

Annual Japanese Pop Culture Festival Expands For Its 5^th Consecutive Year And Will Showcase The Best In Modern Japanese Culture, Film And Entertainment At Weekend-Long Event Set For July 2013

San Francisco, CA, November 12, 2012 – NEW PEOPLE, a dynamic entertainment destination bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, has just announced the dates for the 2013 J-POP Summit Festival. The popular annual event, which returns for its 5^th year to San Francisco’s Japantown district, celebrates Japanese pop culture, music, art, anime, fashion, and film and is scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 27^th - 28^th, 2013.

The J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL is the Bay Area’s premier annual Japanese Pop Culture celebration that features live bands and artists from Japan, pop culture panel discussions, film premieres, fashion shows, DJ dance events, and celebrity appearances. The Festival is hosted by J-POP SUMMIT Festival Committee in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2012, the two-day event attracted more than 65,000 attendees.

A key attraction for next year’s J-POP Summit will be the inauguration of the 2013 San Francisco Japan Film Festival. The first full-fledged Japanese film festival to be held in Northern California and the Bay Area will launch at the NEW PEOPLE Cinema in conjunction with the 2013 J-POP Summit on Saturday, July 27^th and run for one week, concluding on Friday, August 2^nd. Various related activities are being planned including the premieres of a variety of new first-run Japanese live-action films and anime, a red carpet event, insightful lecture presentations, autograph sessions, as well as VIP events.

A variety of other pop-inspired attractions including fashion shows, live art performances, celebrity appearances, and concerts by some of Japan’s hottest bands are now being planned for the 2013 J-POP Summit both inside the NEW PEOPLE complex, and outdoors at the adjacent Peace Plaza located in San Francisco’s Japantown. Innovative artists, vendors and food trucks from the Bay Area and Japan will offer an array of pop-inspired products and delicacies for sale in open air displays on both sides of Post Street, the main Japantown thoroughfare. Additional information and updates on the 2013 J-POP Summit Festival will be posted over coming months at www.J-POP.com.

“The 2012 J-POP Summit was our biggest festival yet and we are very gratified to see how this annual celebration has become an integral part of the colorful cultural fabric of San Francisco,” says Seiji Horibuchi, the President/CEO of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. and Chairman of the J-Pop Summit Festival Committee. “We believe this festival can’t happen anywhere else but here in San Francisco as it has been uniquely developed and welcomed by the city that has always embraced blending different cultures. We will also expand the range of attractions even more for next year with the launch of San Francisco’s first dedicated Japanese film festival as well as more fashion, music, games, food, and Japanese pop culture that our city of San Francisco is sure to love!”

About J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL

The J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL is an annual Japanese Pop Culture celebration that features live bands and artists from Japan, pop culture panel discussions, film premieres, fashion and DJ dance events, and celebrity appearances. The Festival is hosted by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2012, the two-day event attracted 65,000 attendees.

About NEW PEOPLE, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, California, NEW PEOPLE, Inc. (www.newpeopleworld.com) offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan through its unique entertainment destination as well as through licensing and distribution of selective Japanese films. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment (www.newpeopleent.com), a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the "Kingdom of Pop" for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, GANTZ, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, and THE TASTE OF TEA.