Kuala Lumpur – A content innovation showcase focused on Malaysia-Japan co-productions was hosted by Media Prima Berhad, Nippon Television Network Corporation, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Sumitomo Corporation and Broadcast Programme Export Association of Japan (BEAJ) here today. Held at Prince Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the Innovative Content: Co-Production Showcase between Malaysia and Japan highlighted collaboration efforts between the two nations, with a defined focus on two recent co-productions between Media Prima Berhad and its Japanese counterparts: Find the WASABI! -NORIKA’s Hunters- and Welcome to the Railworld Japan.

The showcase was kicked off with a screening of the two programmes, followed by a panel discussion involving representatives from both programmes: Welcome to the Railworld Japan’s travel host, Henry Golding, and producer Ahmad Khairi Zulkifli from Primeworks Studios; as well as Find the WASABI! -NORIKA’s Hunters-’s personable host, Norika Fujiwara, and producer Norico Wada from Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS).

Discussions on Welcome to the Railworld Japan, a collaboration between 8TV Malaysia and Primeworks Studios with Nippon TV, commenced following a co-production agreement between Media Prima and the Japanese broadcaster made in 2013. The co-production saw the merging of two distinct formats, Primeworks Studios’ original Welcome to the Railworld series, and Nippon TV’s Next Stop, Discovery, to create a railway travelogue series highlighting train travel in Japan.

Find the WASABI! -NORIKA’s Hunters-, on the other hand, is a collaboration between ntv7 Malaysia and Primeworks Studios with TBS. The variety-game series is viewed as a co-production pioneer in its genre, based on the involvement of four production units for the series: Primeworks Studios and TBS as main co-producers, supported by Singapore’s Mediacorp and Thailand’s GMM Grammy as associate producers.