What Star Factory does

Star Factory Inc. (株式会社スターファクトリー) is a privately held Japanese creative studio founded in April 2007 by Representative Director Tsukasa Miyamoto, headquartered in Osaka with a secondary office in Tokyo. The firm employs 9 staff and operates across four service pillars: Editorial (magazine, free paper, copywriting), Graphic Design (CI/VI, logos, posters, flyers, packaging), Movie/Web Production (video direction, filming, editing, web design), and Activation (regional revitalization projects addressing depopulation, aging society, and disaster recovery). Its core operational differentiator is an in-house integrated team of editors, writers, designers, and planners that handles projects from media planning through design execution, supplemented by an external partner network of photographers, writers, and video editors for nationwide coverage across Kansai, Kanto, Tohoku, Tokai, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Star Factory's revenue model is project-based professional services with multi-year contract cadences. The firm serves a diversified client base spanning at least 10 verticals including education (Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education, Senshu University Affiliated High School, Shonan Institute of Technology Affiliated High School), healthcare (Sakai City General Medical Center), transportation (Kita-Osako Kyuko Railway), manufacturing (Takara Standard), retail (Nishinomiya Gardens), publishing/travel (JTB Publishing), local government (Osaka City, Toyonaka City, Yao City), and regional/community organizations. Notable branded projects include OSAKA Tabi Megane (Osaka tourism platform, awarded the 2018 Good Design Award by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion), SHIMA-Omoi (nationwide remote-island information site launched December 2018), and Kiji-ru (commercial-use article stock service). The firm has pursued strategic co-development partnerships with web production company Crea (July 2019 owned-media joint initiative) and industry-academia engagement with Osaka Business College.

The firm is entirely founder-owned with no disclosed external institutional investment, registered capital of ¥3,000,000, and an actively operating status as of mid-2020. GTM motion is sales-led and direct, leveraging both Osaka and Tokyo offices to pursue enterprise, mid-market, and government clients primarily through portfolio-driven inbound, referrals, and event-driven visibility from regional activation projects. No public revenue figures, no AI/ML capabilities, and no M&A or funding activity are disclosed.

Name

Star Factory

Legal name

株式会社 StarFACTORY

Website

https://starfactory-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Star Factory is a Japanese creative studio founded in 2007 in Osaka, providing integrated editorial, graphic design, video/web production, and regional activation services to corporate, government, and educational clients across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Editorial Design Services: Magazine, free paper, graphic design, and editorial production services. Projects range from single-page editing and writing to complete magazine production. Subscription-like ongoing client relationships for recurring production needs.
2. Graphic Design Services: CI/VI creation, posters, flyers, leaflets, DM, logo, and packaging design. Includes branding projects from product development and store launch phases.
3. Movie/Web Production: Video production direction, filming, editing, and high-design WEB production including content creation. Integration with print and web for total creative planning.
4. Activation Projects: Regional revitalization and social issue-focused creative projects connecting communities, businesses, and consumers through emotional engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Star Factory is a Japanese creative studio that provides integrated editorial, graphic design, video/web production, and regional activation services for corporate, government, and educational clients. The company operates with in-house editors, writers, designers, and planners in both Osaka and Tokyo offices, handling end-to-end creative production from media planning and editorial writing through to design, filming, and web delivery. It also runs named branded projects such as the SHIMA-Omoi island information platform, OSAKA旅めがね tourism site (Good Design Award winner), and the Kiji-ru article stock service.

Product overview

Star FACTORY is a creative studio founded in 2007 offering four core service pillars: Editorial, Design, Movie/Web, and Activation. The company provides integrated creative services from magazine and free paper production to graphic design, video/web production, and regional revitalization projects. Notable branded projects include SHIMA-Omoi (island information platform), OSAKA旅めがね (tourism site awarded Good Design Award), and Kiji-ru (article stock service). The company operates from Osaka and Tokyo offices with a team of 9 staff members and maintains nationwide networks of photographers, writers, and designers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Editorial Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• OSAKA旅めがね won Good Design Award (2018)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crea (くれない)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeb production and system development company based in Minamimorimachi, Osaka. Joint project for owned media planning, production, and operational support. Star Factory provides content editing and article production while Crea handles system development, offering comprehensive owned media solutions.
• Osaka Business College (大阪ビジネスカレッジ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVocational school that collaborated on OSAKA旅めがね project as an industry-academia partnership. Students participated in 'Find Out' content creation, helping to convey Osaka's charm while gaining practical experience.
• GRAPH (グラフ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrinting company based in Hyogo Prefecture. Collaborated on the Island Memory Project, producing luminous direct mail pieces distributed to event attendees.
• Soranomi (ソラノミ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvent management company. Co-developed 'Egakuru' project - an initiative originally intended to have building stakeholders and local residents paint murals on a building before demolition, expressing gratitude. During COVID-19 pandemic, shifted to painting walls and doors of the facility with artists to deliver smiles.
• Musics Zoo (ミュージックズー)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic/entertainment provider from Hyogo Prefecture invited to Island Memory Project third installment to conduct 'Create Your T-Shirt Workshop' at Imoseya venue.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PARTY: Tokyo-based creative agency producing integrated editorial, design, film, and digital campaigns for Japanese and global brands. Comparable to Star Factory in offering integrated creative production services with a boutique-agency model, though Party skews more toward brand campaigns and digital experiences.
• TYO (now anagram): Japanese creative agency producing advertising films, branded content, and integrated campaigns. Overlaps with Star Factory on the video production and creative direction side of the business.
• Drill Inc. Tokyo-based creative agency specializing in advertising film direction and branded content. Comparable to Star Factory on video production and creative direction, though with heavier emphasis on film/TV advertising production.
• NOSIGNER: Japan-based creative design firm offering branding, product design, and innovation consulting. Comparable to Star Factory on the design and creative production side, with a similarly focused multi-disciplinary boutique positioning.
• Sun (サン): Japan-based integrated creative agency offering advertising, editorial design, and brand strategy services. Comparable to Star Factory on editorial design and integrated brand creative, with a similarly broad creative services model.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu: Japan's largest advertising agency providing creative, digital, and media services globally. Overlaps with Star Factory on the creative editorial, design, and digital production side, but operates at vastly greater scale and with international footprint.
• Hakuhodo: Japan's second-largest advertising agency offering full creative, media, and content services. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the Japanese creative services market where Star Factory operates, though with vastly larger scale and integrated media planning capabilities Star Factory cannot match.
• TBWA HAKUHODO: Joint venture between TBWA Worldwide and Hakuhodo offering creative and brand disruption services in Japan. Operates in the same creative agency space as Star Factory but with global network access and larger scale.
• ADK (Asatsu-DK): Major Japanese advertising agency with strong integrated creative and content capabilities. Comparable as an incumbent competitor on brand and editorial creative work, particularly in content-driven campaigns.

Others

• Kadokawa Connected (formerly Kadokawa Magazines / publication-related divisions): While primarily a publishing company, Kadokawa operates adjacent editorial and content production capabilities and is comparable to Star Factory as a buyer/driver of magazine editorial production work in Japan's media ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Star Factory