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Jake Fumitaro Ohama
Founder
January 17, 1995. In Kobe, Japan, people were just starting to return from their jobs. The cold Tuesday evening took a disastrous turn as an earthquake wreaked havoc in the city with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale and tremors lasting for 20 seconds. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake claimed the lives of over 6,000 people. The news spread fast. Thousands of kilometers away, Jake Fumitaro Ohama, Founder of Branding Inc. and RABBITWARREN Animation Studios, who was a student of the University of Southern California, was devastated by the agonizing visuals from his home country and wondered if there was anything he could do to help, even in a small way. Fumitaro organized a student event to raise donations, which raised about $10,000.
The Kobe city officials were grateful for the gesture and remembered his efforts well.
In 1999, when the technology revolution took off, Fumitaro was back in Tokyo and built Branding Inc., a company that pioneered the internet-based fashion and wedding business in Japan. He produced the wedding of Ichiro Suzuki, the then MLB player of the Miami Marlins, and his venture immediately caught the spotlight from all parts of the country. He was soon approached by Kobe officials as part of a local economic revitalization project, for co-hosting a fashion show called "Kobe Collection".
The project quickly gained nationwide attention, and Fumitaro became a well-known, pioneering brand-creation expert. He went on to revitalize Tokyo's textile and fashion industry and launched the “Tokyo Girls Collection” in 2005, which became Japan's iconic mega-fashion event. His innovative mind and foresight were the secret ingredient in the grant success of these events.
RABBITWARREN aims to remind humanity of our fundamental unity and that on this small planet, we can thrive together without conflict
Simultaneously, Fumitaro’s entrepreneurial venture took off. At a time when the mobile phone itself was a concept people were getting used to, his company became the first in the world to sell clothing via monochrome mobile phones in 2000! He launched the mobile fashion websites girlswalker. com and fashionwalker.com, which attracted 20 million users. In successive years, Fumitaro’s company managed Louis Vuitton Japan’s first-ever mobile commerce initiative, operated the official Japanese website for Colette, and handled Cartier’s first-ever mobile advertising campaign, all of which became highly successful projects. further more, his company created a promotional campaign for Coca-Cola Japan, which saw the sales skyrocketing to the tune of Coca-Cola, selling over 20 million bottles within the campaign period.
He also led a marketing campaign for the U.S. luxury fashion brand Kitson and helped them sell over 1.5 million bags within nine months, generating more than $200 million in revenue. He added several golden feathers to his hat over the past two decades, collaborating with various major companies such as Square Enix (one of the largest video game companies in the world), Sumitomo Corporation, and Aoyama Trading.
Today, a new mission has taken him to Singapore, while his passion for innovation and impacting the world on a larger scale remains constant. He founded the company RABBITWARREN Animation Studios in the state-city. The RABBITWARREN animation project has already reached 26 million subscribers on YouTube, revolutionizing the global animation industry. CEO Insights Asia recently had the opportunity to interview this futuristic, versatile leader. Below is an excerpt from our interview with Fumitaro.
Your new venture in Singapore follows an incredible professional journey in Japan. What is unique about this new venture?
In light of the success stories in Japan, the Singapore government (EDB and STB) reached out to me multiple times, requesting that I establish a company in Singapore and create new industries. In 2022, I launched a project called the “UNCONDITIONABLE” (unconditionable.org). This project has multiple elements, but in simple terms, its goal is to remind humanity that we are fundamentally one and that on this small planet, we don’t need to fight, we can all prosper together. It aims to rekindle unconditional love and an unconditional heart.
In the first phase, we created an animation project for both children and adults. We aim for our viewers to recall our stories and messages and gain insight and courage from them when they face difficulties in life someday. A story remains in a person’s heart forever. The core message we aim to convey through RABBITWARREN is clearly defined. At the beginning of our ending sequence, we display the phrase "For Unconditionable Hearts". This is our most important message, which is a reminder of the “unconditionable heart”. We firmly believe that this is the true magic that can bring abundance and peace to the Earth.
What is RABBITWARREN's current project strategy?
We have decided to focus on simple musical content for RABBITWARREN until we reach 100 million subscribers. Once we cross that landmark, the storyline will finally begin. The background story of RABBITWARREN is vast. It unfolds across multiple parallel universes that progress simultaneously. To lay the groundwork for this, we will include 30 to 40 seconds of story at the beginning of each video as foreshadowing.
In summary, there was a legendary planet called "Maldek", believed to have existed between Jupiter and Mars. This planet engaged in nuclear war, leading to its self-destruction, which had severe negative effects on the ecosystems of other planets in the same galaxy. The last surviving Silver Panther of Maldek, determined to prevent others from making the same mistake, travels to Earth, which forms the origin of the story.
In truth, it took numerous discussions and explanations to convince our staff about the idea as they thought the story was too complex for children. Eventually, we created "QQQ - Maldek & Quantum Magic". As a result, thanks to word-of-mouth, the video became a bigger hit than we initially expected. Its view count continues to grow steadily.
What are the roles and responsibilities you undertake in this venture as its leader?
I am the founder, a picture book author, and the creative director of this project. Therefore, I meticulously oversee and approve every detail related to the design, style, and story of all the characters.
Training animation designers and creators takes 5 to 10 years, which is a significant amount of time. Because of this, it is also true that some level of compromise is necessary to complete each video. Every day, we work hard to maximize our essence and style within a limited budget, and it's a constant battle!.
What kind of impacts do you see yourself achieving in the long run?
This might contradict my previous answer a little, but I have never asked myself, "How can we continue to have a major impact on the world?".
What matters most is that my team and I remain excited and passionate about what we do. The important thing is to focus on the present, to live in the now. It’s also crucial that we can clearly express our unique perspectives and the essence of our content.
We welcome both positive and negative feedback! I believe that the content that is supported in the long run is always accompanied by both positive and critical opinions, like yin and yang.
What would be your advice to budding animation industry leaders from your experience?
We are newcomers ourselves, so we don’t really have any special advice to give.
However, if we were to leave a message, it would be,
“Your struggles, hardships, and failures in life are the very things that will fuel your creativity and lead you to true growth, for they contain the greatest hints for your success”.
And... “For Unconditionable Hearts”!!
Jake Fumitaro Ohama, Founder, RABBITWARREN Animation Studios
A Japanese internet entrepreneur, creative director, and animation director, Fumitaro founded the mega fashion show, "Tokyo Girls Collection". He also founded RABBITWARREN Animation Studios, which created the popular animation YouTube channel "RABBITWARREN", which surpassed 26 million subscribers within the first two years.
Hobbies: “Reading, especially books related to design and quantum mechanics”.
Favorite Cuisine: “Organic and healthy food”
Favorite Book: “Too many to list”
Favorite Travel Destination: “Exploring towns and villages”
Awards & Recognition:
SKIP City International D-Cinema Festival 2011 – SKIP City Award (Film: DON'T STOP!)
Nikkei Internet Award 2002
6th Japan Online Shopping Grand Prize
Senken Newspaper Award 2005
New Technology Commercialization Promotion Award - 41st Good Company Award
2nd Japan Service Award
Top 10 Most Promising Animation Companies in Asia 2024 (Asia Business Outlook)