What Amana Images does

amana inc. (株式会社アマナ, ticker 2402 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market) is a Tokyo-headquartered visual communication company founded on April 28, 1979, that provides end-to-end creative services to Japanese enterprise clients. Its core capabilities span brand strategy and design, photography (still, on-location via 600+ contracted photographers, and aerial drone filming), 2D and 3D computer graphics (14 distinct CG solution services), video and TV commercial production, XR experiences (VR/AR/MR), large-format UV printing, and content management services, all delivered under a co-creation model with approximately 400 specialized producers and roughly 10,000 projects annually. The company is publicly traded with 520 consolidated employees as of January 2026 and operates wholly-owned subsidiaries including needsplus Inc., Kadinche Corporation, RAZONA Inc., and AIMS Inc.

Revenue is generated through a mix of project-based professional service fees for commissioned visual communication work, per-image and subscription licensing of a stock content library of roughly 25 million visual assets on amanaimages.com (ForYourImages subscription: 40/100/250 images per month), ancillary revenue from IMA magazine publishing and NATURE & SCIENCE content, JUIDA drone certification training distributed through Bic Camera, and — as of June 2026 — the aVISION DOOH advertising platform. Customer wins disclosed in 2026 case studies include SUZUKI (AI×3DCG overseas advertising), BIPROGY (corporate portal), Tsukuba Express (recruitment brand film), Inabata Sangyo, Toda Corporation (offshore wind PR), Fujitec (elevator VR), Panasonic HVAC, Yoku Moku, POLA (Chinese New Year campaign), and Yokoo (100-year-old VI refresh). The company maintains active thought leadership on amana INSIGHTS, A³ | amana AI Architects for AI-enabled creative production, and ISO 27001 plus JICDAQ certifications acquired in 2024 to support enterprise content management sales.

Name

Amana Images

Legal name

amana inc.

Website

https://amana.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

amana inc. (株式会社アマナ) is a Tokyo-based visual communication company founded in 1979 providing end-to-end creative services — photography, 2D/3D CG, video, XR, drone, and printing — to Japanese enterprise clients, complemented by a 25-million-asset stock content platform and roughly 520 employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Communication Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922), Graphic Design Services (54143), Motion Picture and Video Production (512110)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time) (MPAHACAN), AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF)

Keywords

• Visual communication services
• Stock photography platform
• Corporate video production
• CG production services
• Brand content creation

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Visual Communication Design Services: End-to-end visual communication services for enterprises including brand strategy, content production, CG, photography, video/TVCM, website production, graphic design, and promotion. Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees.
2. Stock Content Sales: Sale of visual materials (photos, illustrations, videos, 3D models, fonts, audio) through amanaimages.com and other platforms. Revenue generated through per-image licensing and subscription plans.
3. ForYourImages Subscription Service: Subscription-based stock photo service offering 1 image from 145 yen through monthly plans (40/100/250 images per month) or ticket-based plans (4 images from 5,000 yen). Royalties-free materials.
4. Lifestyle Content Publications: Publishing and event activities centered on magazines including IMA (photo lifestyle magazine, published 4x/year) and Nature & Science. Revenue from magazine sales and related events.
5. Content Management Services: Enterprise content management services for managing and operating visual assets, customized for specific production environments and workflows.
6. Training and Education: Creative talent development programs (amana Creative Camp), photography and design workshops, and drone pilot certification courses (JUIDA-licensed).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

amana inc. is a full-service visual communication company that plans and produces creative content (photography, 2D/3D CG, video/TVCM, XR, drone cinematography, large-format printing, web/app development) for enterprise clients, complemented by the amanaimages.com stock content platform licensing ~25 million photos, illustrations, videos, 3D models, fonts, and audio assets. The company also publishes the IMA photography lifestyle magazine and NATURE & SCIENCE publication, runs the aVISION DOOH advertising platform, and provides AI-assisted creative production through its A³ organization.

Product overview

amana inc. is a Japanese visual communication company offering a comprehensive suite of creative services organized across three primary divisions: PLANNING & DESIGN (branding, promotion, content marketing, editorial, graphic design, web design and analytics, presentation support, AI services via A³, internal communication platforms, applications, and creative training), VISUAL/Motion/Photography/Digital Imaging (still photography, 2DCG, 3DCG/CG, XR VR/AR/MR, on-location photography, TVCM/video production, drone aerial photography, and printing services), and LIFESTYLE CONTENTS (the IMA multimedia photography magazine and NATURE & SCIENCE publications). The company also operates the DOOH advertising platform aVISION and maintains an internal AI specialist team A³ | amana AI Architects. amana serves enterprise clients across advertising, publishing, e-commerce, and corporate communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A³ | amana AI Architects: AI specialist organization within amana combining experts in creative, AI technology, and data management to support AI implementation design and generative workflows
• IMA
• NATURE & SCIENCE
• aVISION

Products and services

• aVISION aVISION is amana's proprietary DOOH advertising platform that creates and delivers immersive brand experiences for advertisers and brand marketers across digital out-of-home networks.
• A³ | amana AI Architects Internal AI specialist organization combining creative, AI technology, and data management experts to provide integrated AI adoption design, generative workflows, and expression development services for enterprise clients; applied to image generation, 3DCG production, and brand-consistent visual content creation.
• amanaimages.com Stock Content Platform Self-service online platform offering approximately 25 million visual assets — photos, illustrations, videos, 3D models, fonts, and audio — to designers, agencies, editors, and creative professionals worldwide; integrates premium partner content including the Magnum Photos collection and ~120,000 TurboSquid 3D models.
• ForYourImages Subscription Service Royalty-free stock photo subscription service offering individuals and SMBs access to images from 145 yen each through monthly subscription tiers (40/100/250 images per month from ¥10,000) or ticket-based plans (4 images from ¥5,000).
• IMA Magazine Multimedia lifestyle photography magazine and information-dissemination project published four times per year, proposing rich living with photography across print and digital channels.
• NATURE & SCIENCE Nature and science visual content publication covering natural fields and scientific disciplines with rich visual storytelling, terminology explanations, and research practitioner voices.
• amana Drone School (JUIDA Certification) JUIDA-licensed drone pilot certification courses including Pilot Skills Course (¥198,000) and Pilot Skills & Safety Operations Manager Combined Course (¥236,000); distributed through Bic Camera retail stores and biccamera.com.
• INSIGHT: IMA PHOTO SCHOOL Photography and design education workshops including Photoshop and InDesign courses — 8 sessions per course, priced at ¥55,000 per course (tax excluded).
• PHOTOLBA Photography Studio Professional photography studio service for family, kids, and professional shoots with tiered plans (Basic from ¥5,000; Professional ¥30,000 by reservation; STUDIO Selfie from ¥3,000 for 15 minutes); Yokohama studio.
• KAIGAN STUDIO Approximately 1,000-tsubo (3,300 sqm) flagship studio in Minato-ku, Tokyo — featuring a white cyclorama, kitchen set, and luxury lounge; described as Japan's highest-level studio in terms of function and comfort.
• End-to-End Visual Communication Services Integrated creative production services spanning still photography, 2D CG, 3D CG (14 solution areas), TVCM/video production, drone aerial cinematography, on-location photography (600+ nationwide contract photographers), XR (VR/AR/MR), museum-quality large-format UV printing, graphic design, branding, content marketing, and web/application development — delivered as Co-Creation Partnerships with enterprise clients via ~400 specialized producers.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~10,000 visual advertising projects delivered annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bic CameracoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 November 2016Bic Camera began selling amana Drone School JUIDA certification course packages at all camera departments nationwide and on biccamera.com — the first consumer electronics retailer to do so in the industry.
• KDDI ∞ Labo (アクセルスペース through KDDI program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 September 2016amana Group joined KDDI's startup accelerator program to support AxelSpace in developing satellite imagery content. amanaimages.com began selling satellite images from the Hodoyoshi-1 microsatellite, with custom satellite imaging services also available.
• SoftBank Commerce & Service (SB C&S)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 September 2016amana Group (through amanabi) partnered with SB C&S to develop drone training programs for various business use cases. SB C&S provides one-stop drone proposals including hardware consultation, training, insurance, and maintenance to enterprise and government clients.
• TurboSquidcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2011amanaimages.com began selling approximately 120,000 3D modeling assets from TurboSquid, enabling access to TurboSquid's ~2 million registered users for amana's visual materials. 3D models sold starting at 210 yen per item.
• Mouse ComputerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMouse Computer provided Windows creator PC 'DAIV' equipment for IMA PHOTO SCHOOL workshops (Photoshop and InDesign courses), combining hardware with amana's photography education expertise.
• KS Design Lab (ケイズデザインラボ)minorStrategic or Co-development Partneramana partnered with KS Design Lab to open the Super Scan Studio (SSS) at Tennoz Isle, combining KS Design Lab's 3D scanning technology with amana's visual production capabilities.
• Nikkei (日本経済新聞社) - Nikkei AcademiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMA Media Project produced the 'Art Special Lectures' series with Nikkei Academia, hosting photography lectures by world-renowned photographers including Martin Parr (Magnum Photos).
• Panasonic / LUMIXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPanasonic LUMIX has been the special sponsor of the 'LUMIX MEETS BEYOND 2020 BY JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHERS' exhibition series since 2013, supporting emerging Japanese photographers in Paris, Tokyo, and Amsterdam.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• robot communications: Tokyo-headquartered digital marketing and content production company. Comparable as a Japanese content and creative services provider competing for digital, video, and brand content budgets alongside amana's enterprise creative services.

Direct peers

• Shutterstock: Global stock image, video, and music licensing platform with subscription and on-demand models. Closely comparable to amana's ForYourImages subscription stock service and overall licensed content marketplace.
• Getty Images: Global stock photography and visual content marketplace. Directly comparable to amanaimages.com as a licensed visual asset platform serving creative professionals, with overlap in editorial, commercial, and video footage categories.
• Adobe Stock: Stock image service bundled within Adobe Creative Cloud. Comparable to amanaimages.com as a creative professional-focused stock platform, with growing overlap in generative AI imagery (Firefly).
• Pond5: Stock video, image, audio, and 3D model marketplace. Comparable to amanaimages.com in stock licensing model and content diversity, with overlap particularly in 3D model distribution and editorial video.
• WOW inc. Tokyo-based creative production studio specializing in motion graphics, design, and integrated visual experiences. Comparable to amana's motion/CG/XR production services for enterprise clients with similar Japanese creative talent positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo: Major Japanese advertising agency group. Comparable as a broad advertising incumbent providing end-to-end brand communication services to Japanese enterprises, competing for similar client budgets as amana's enterprise creative services.
• Dentsu: Japan-headquartered global advertising and marketing services holding company. Comparable as a much larger incumbent offering integrated creative, media, and digital services to enterprise clients — overlapping with amana's brand and campaign work but at vastly greater scale.
• ADK Holdings: Japanese advertising holding company (formerly Asatsu-DK). Comparable as a broad incumbent offering creative, digital, and media services to Japanese enterprises with overlapping client base and service categories to amana.

Regional players

• Videobank: Japan-focused stock video and footage licensing platform. Comparable to amana's stock video content offering, with similar Japanese-market focus but narrower category depth than amanaimages.com's full asset breadth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/amanaimages
• Facebookfacebook.com/amanainc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amana_group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 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 Amana Images