Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Domon Yoshitaka; hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) has decided to introduce Nippon Columbia’s official character, “Colo-chan,” as an AI judge at COLOTEK, an AI-powered creative contest held at BAROOM and Face Minami Aoyama on Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th, 2025. As a result, we are also beginning to accept applications for additional entries.
This contest will be producing the AI video work “Capsule Movie™ (※2)” with the theme of the song “Party of Monsters” by our artist Hikawa Kiyoshi. Through the fusion of the latest AI technology and music, we aim to discover and support new talent that will contribute to the creation of next-generation entertainment.
This time, NTT Data Co., Ltd.’s “NeuroAI® D-Planner® (※3)” is a model for predicting human brain activity in humans. https://d-planner.nttdata-neuroai.com/ ) will introduce our character, Koro-chan, as an AI judge. “NeuroAI®” is a groundbreaking technology that predicts human brain activity and objectively evaluates the sensibilities and impressions caused by content viewing. This allows AI to evaluate works based on data from a fair, fair and multifaceted perspective. The awards will be decided taking into account the evaluations of experts in addition to AI judges. Furthermore, the introduction of AI judges is the first (*1) attempt in Japan to be an official AI video production contest held by a record company.
Furthermore, despite the first event, COLOTEK has been attracting great attention and expectations, and we have received many applications from people of diverse backgrounds, from junior high school students to university professors, regardless of individual or team. In response to this response, the decision to introduce AI judges has also been made to create opportunities for more talented creators to participate, and the capacity will increase and additional entries will be accepted until Sunday, August 17th, 2025. In addition, due to additional recruitment, we will notify you of the results of selection for those who have entered by Monday, July 21, 2025 after Friday, August 22nd.
Through COLOTEK, our company will pursue the possibilities of new creative expression using AI technology and promote innovation in the music industry. We look forward to receiving entries from many creators.
*1 Researched by our company
*2 Capsule Movie™: A general term for short videos that pursue story and creativeness
*3 “NeuroAI” and “D-Planner” are registered trademarks of NTT DATA Inc. in Japan.
Special websitehttps://colo-tek.com/
■Contest overview
Contest name: COLOTEK
Date: Saturday, September 13th – Sunday, September 14th, 2025
Venue: BAROOM/Face Minami Aoyama Office (Face Minami Aoyama, 6-10-12 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
■ Participation benefits
1. Talk sessions by industry leaders
2. Introducing the video work on official social media
3. Media Promotion
4. Providing networking opportunities
5. Participation support
*For details, please see the special website.
■How to participate in the contest
Special page ( https://colo-tek.com/ ) is accepting entries.
Additional recruitment period: Sunday, August 17th, 2025, 23:59
■Entry qualification
・Participation fee is free
・One person will participate or up to four teams
・You can participate on-site and submit your results from September 13th (Sat) to 14th (Sun), 2025
*Participants under the age of 18 must have parental consent.
■What is NeuroAI®?( https://d-planner.nttdata-neuroai.com/ )
NeuroAI® is an AI that predicts human brain activity, jointly developed by NTT Data Co., Ltd. and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). D-Planner®, a creative evaluation solution that utilizes this technology, will begin offering services in April 2021. Its feature is that it allows you to quantitatively evaluate indicators such as “gaze,” “impression,” “pleasing,” “memory retention,” and “intention to behave” based on scientific evidence for content such as videos, music, advertisements, and product packaging. Simply upload the content and get the evaluation results in about 40 seconds. It visualizes “hard-to-see reactions” such as sensibilities and impressions, contributing to improving the quality of creative work and supporting decision-making.
About Koro-chan
Born in 1962, he is a mascot character from Nippon Columbia. It has a somewhat retro atmosphere, but also features a heartwarming and cute look.
Trademark registration was approved in July 1962. This is the first bonus item for the Columbia nursery rhyme series to be used for sale. (It has been made of polyvinyl chloride, 5cm and 8cm in height, and has also been produced in large quantities, and a 30cm high medium doll for display at counters, and a large doll for storefront entrances of 90cm high (reinforced plastic with stand) to be used as displays for authorized dealers.) Since then, additional products have been produced for designated educational records stores, and a total of approximately 1,000 medium dolls and approximately 500 large dolls have been produced. The name “Coro-chan” has also been loved as the name for the Columbia nursery rhyme series “Coro-chan Pack” (a complex product packed with cassettes or CDs and picture books).
■Organizers and partners
Organised by: Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.
Partners: Toggle Holdings Co., Ltd., NTT Data Co., Ltd.
■What is COLOTEK?
This is a creative contest that combines the latest AI technology and music, hosted by Nippon Columbia, Japan’s first record company, which marks its 115th anniversary. In recent years, AI technology has led to major innovations in the music industry, including composition, arrangement, performance, and video production, and COLOTEK offers the opportunity to utilize this innovative technology to experience cutting-edge creatives that combine music and AI. Discover new talent and contribute to creating entertainment for the next generation.
