Theme Entertainment Opens Office in Simi

Theme Entertainment Creators Inc., a graphic design firm that specializes in advertising and other promotional material for the Japanese market, has opened a new office in Simi Valley.

The company is one of several controlled by Skip K. Ishii, a native of Tokyo who produces commercials for Japanese television. His wife, Yumiko, is president of Theme Entertainment.

“Almost everything we do is in Japanese for Japanese consumption,” Skip Ishii said.

Theme Entertainment Creators and the Ishii’s TV company, Skip Ishii Productions, are part of a family-owned holding company, Stonewell Consortium. The group also includes a firm that serves as a consultant to U.S. film producers seeking to break into the Japanese market.

“We even have a company that imports mushrooms from Japan,” Ishii said.

Ishii said there’s a great deal of emphasis on personal relationships in Japanese business.

“The people there want to know about your family, your age--all sorts of things. And they notice whether an American has gone to the trouble of having his business card translated into Japanese.”

The Ishiis’ clients in this country and Japan have included Japan Air Lines, Nissan, Northwest Airlines, Olympus Camera, Sanyo, Sony, Suntory, Toshiba Electric and Toyota Motors.

Stonewell, based in Westwood, also has offices in Tokyo and Jakarta.