—Recognized by the prestigious annual event of Greater China

For more details, visit: https://www.bellustartokyo.jp/en/topics/ttgchinatravelawards2025/

TOKYO, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel (Shinjuku, Tokyo; General Manager Katsushi Nishikawa) was awarded Best New Hotel (International) by the TTG China Travel Awards 2025, which recognizes the best of Greater China’s travel industry.

An event by TTG Travel Trade Publishing, TTG China Travel Awards began in 2008 as an awards event that honors the best Asia-Pacific travel and tourism organizations, and is regarded as the one of the most coveted and influential awards of the travel industry in Greater China.

Industry professionals who are readers of TTG China, TTG-BTmice China, TTG Asia, TTG India, TTGmice, TTGassociations, and TTG Asia Luxury are called upon to cast their votes on the most outstanding travel suppliers within the categories of Airlines, Hotels, Resort Hotels, Serviced Residents, and Travel Services. (Official Website: https://awards.ttgchina.com/en)

BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel was awarded Best New Hotel (International) within the China Outbound Market Awards. A category that evaluates hotels across the globe as a travel destination outbound from Greater China, this award recognizes BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel with the prestigious honor of having the highest standard of service among new hotels around the world.

General Manager Katsushi Nishikawa has released the following comment in response to the award:

“I feel truly honored to receive this prestigious award of TTG China Travel Awards’ Best New Hotel. This is the result of the hard work and dedication of our entire team, who devote their all for guests each and every day. I am sincerely grateful that our service and facilities were recognized by professionals within the travel industry.

Our hotel strives to provide guests with an excellent experience at all times. This award drives us to further pursue our commitment, so that we may continue to be beloved by our guests.”

BELLUSTAR TOKYO opened its doors in 2023, and is approaching its two-year anniversary on 19 May 2025. Since its opening, it has received numerous prestigious awards and continues to heighten its presence within the industry.

• Past Awards of BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel
  • Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2024
    • Top 10 City Hotel
  • World Luxury Awards 2024
    • Best Luxury New Hotel in East Asia
    • Best Architectural Design in East Asia
  • MICHELIN Guide Hotel Selection
    • One MICHELIN Key

• Past Awards of SPA sunya
  • World Luxury Awards 2024
    • Best Relaxation Lounge in East Asia
    • Best Unique Experience Spa in East Asia
    • Best Luxury City Hotel Spa in East Asia

• About BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel

BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel is a luxury hotel where guests can enjoy special spaces far from the madding crowd down below. Located on the 39th floor and above, the spacious guest rooms have Japanese culture woven into its interiors and offer a panoramic view of Tokyo. The topmost floors feature a restaurant with uniquely creative gourmet meals in a one-of-a-kind space, a spa for guests to experience the bounty of Japan’s soil, and the Sky Private Villa, which houses five penthouse suites, providing guests a relaxing time to return to oneself surrounded by a stunning view on all sides.

Location: 1-29-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1600021, Japan
                Tokyo Kabukicho Tower 18F, 39-47F
Tel: 81 3 6233 8800 (Representative)
Official Website: https://www.bellustartokyo.jp/en/

For press-related inquiries concerning this release, please contact
BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel
Contact person: Chika Ayabe (Public Relations/Marketing Department)
E-mail: pr.ppbtk@panpacific.com / Tel: 81 3 6233 7693

MANILA, Philippines, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Tonik, the first digital bank in the Philippines, has been named a 2025 Endeavor Outlier — placing the company among the top 10% of global high-growth scale-ups in Endeavor’s 2,500+ company portfolio across 42 markets.

The recognition affirms Tonik’s position as the #1 digital bank in the Philippines for lending monetization, and places it in the company of global neobank unicorns like Nubank, Ualá and Cora — all trailblazers in reimagining financial access in emerging markets.

“This recognition underscores the power of building a lending-first neobank model in a $40B underserved market,” said Greg Krasnov, Founder and CEO of Tonik. “We’re not just scaling fast — we’re scaling with profitability, resilience, and purpose.”

Tonik’s recognition follows its achievement of outstanding performance milestones:

• Annualized Revenue Run Rate (ARR) reached $30M, with 83% of revenue from lending
• Lending Risk-Adjusted Gross Margin (RAROC) at world-class 23%
• Loan portfolio scaled 6x in 24 months, now reaching $50M

“Tonik’s selection is a milestone not just for Endeavor, but for Philippine fintech,” said Manny Ayala, Managing Director of Endeavor Philippines. “They’re building one of the most profitable and scalable neobanks in the region — with global relevance.”

Tonik’s banking license and proprietary AI-powered risk and ops engines give it a massive edge in a 4x underpenetrated consumer lending market.  Tonik’s lending-first model drives 5–10x ARPU compared to payments-led competitors and delivers 16x LTV/CAC.

With a capital-efficient path to profitability, a defensible B2B2C moat, and a massive TAM, Tonik is primed for the next phase of breakout growth — and poised to reshape the future of credit in the Philippines.

About Tonik

Tonik is the first digital-only neobank in the Philippines, operating under a full banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Tonik offers loans, deposits, and embedded finance via a mobile-first experience. The company is backed by leading global investors including Mizuho Bank, Insignia Ventures, Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India), and Point72 Ventures.

About Endeavor

Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global network supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in 40+ markets. Its portfolio companies have generated over $50B in revenues and created more than 4M jobs. The Endeavor Outliers program recognizes the top 10% of this network — companies defining the future of industry and innovation.

HONG KONG, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Entertainment experience curator INCUBASE Studio announced a strategic partnership with K11 Concepts Management Limited to jointly promote global anime culture. K11 Experience serving as K11 Concepts Management Limited’s IP incubation platform for anime, culture and imagination, aims to develop anime-driven cultural and entertainment experiences; and customise journeys of imagination  for customers. Through this collaboration, INCUBASE Studio will leverage K11 Experience’s extensive customer base, ticketing platform, CRM system and supporting ecosystem to introduce INCUBASE Studio’s exhibition projects, creating immersive ACGN cultural experiences for next-generation consumers, local and worldwide.  

Since its establishment in Hong Kong in 2021, INCUBASE Studio has been dedicated to promoting anime culture and unprecedented entertainment experiences across the world as a curator and producer of experiential entertainment. The startup takes pride in its portfolio of renowned IP-based experiences in Hong Kong and across Asia, which can be categorised into two types of exhibitions. The first type consists of brand-new experiences designed and curated by INCUBASE Studio, including the immersive ‘One Piece The Great Era of Piracy Exhibition Asia Tour’, ‘The Conjuring Universe Tour’ inspired by the blockbuster horror franchise, and ‘The Peppa Pig Treasure Hunt Family Interactive Exhibition’ debuted in summer 2024.

The second type involves INCUBASE Studio bringing exhibitions from Japan to Hong Kong SAR and other regions, adding region-specific elements to enhance connections and interactions with local fans. Notable exhibitions include the ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition’, ‘DETECTIVE CONAN THE MOVIE Exhibition – A Silver Screen Retrospective’, ‘Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary Exhibition’ and ‘Chainsaw Man Animation Exhibition’, all of which have received widespread acclaim and created a buzz in the local community.

INCUBASE Studio owns the online ticketing platform INCUTix and opened its first anime cultural experience hub INCUBASE Arena in Hong Kong in 2024, along with the brick-and-mortar INCUShop. These offerings provide a holistic and diverse range of anime-based cultural and entertainment experiences encompassing exhibitions, events, F&B and merchandise. INCUBASE Arena expanded with a branch in Malaysia in January 2025 and is set to further extend its presence into other Southeast Asian countries, Mainland China, Taiwan region, as well as the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, as part of its effort to carve a vibrant community out of the anime fandom worldwide and promote anime culture and experiences.

Dr. Adrian Cheng, founder of K11, has been actively promoting the development of cultural industry. Richard Cheung, Group CEO at K11 Concepts Management Limited, describes the strategic collaboration with INCUBASE Studio as a significant step to create fertile ground for the development of anime culture sector. ‘We have been committed to the business model that combines culture and commerce to create value. In face of the massive opportunities in anime and ACGN culture sector, we have decided to invest in INCUBASE Studio to support the development of local creative industry and promote anime culture. INCUBASE Studio has strong capabilities in IP acquisition and integration, especially Japanese IP. Through this strategic partnership, we will pave the way for anime, culture and entertainment industry to grow, with a view to curating richer and more diverse cultural environs while achieving economic benefits.’

Sion Yip, Founder and CEO of INCUBASE Studio, expresses hope that the partnership will open audience’s eyes to innovations in anime culture. ‘We are honoured to partner with K11 Concepts Management Limited, bringing significant development opportunities for anime entertainment experiences across the world. The collaboration adds momentum to the future endeavours set out in our development blueprint. Looking ahead, we will introduce more world-class IPs on their IP incubation platform K11 Experience, and explore deeper forms of collaboration, providing innovative entertainment experiences to fans worldwide and establish Hong Kong as a hub for the anime industry in Asia.’

Sion revealed that INCUBASE Studio has ambitious plans to host major exhibitions designed and curated by the team featuring iconic IPs like ‘Crayon Shin-chan’, ‘Dragon Ball’ and ‘Monster Hunter’ this year across Asia. They are also working to bring a variety of highly anticipated exhibitions and themed pop-up stores, including ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’, ‘DAN DA DAN’, ‘The Idolmaster’ and ‘Oshi no Ko’, to regions beyond Japan.

– Achieving constant high power input and output while maintaining battery life –

TOKYO, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Toshiba Corporation has launched a new SCiB™ module, a lithium-ion battery designed for use in EV buses, electric ships, and stationary applications. The new product features an aluminum baseplate that dissipates approximately twice the heat of current modules. It will be available from mid-April 2025, in Japan and internationally.

Use of lithium-ion batteries is increasing and diversifying, and there is growing demand for batteries that can support constant rapid charging and discharging in applications as diverse as electric buses and power load leveling in stationary applications. However, constant input and output at high power levels in a short time generates lifeshortening heat in the batteries. The challenge for battery developers is to manage heat dissipation and maintain battery life while realizing high power input and output in a short time.

Toshiba’s SCiB™ rechargeable batteries have a lithium titanate negative electrode that realizes safe operation, a long life, low temperature performance, fast charging, high input and output, and a wide effective state of charge (SOC^*1). They are widely used in hybrid vehicles and industrial applications, including electric buses, cranes, trains, and automated guided vehicles in logistics centers. In addition to battery packs and cells, Toshiba also offers battery modules that can be connected in series or in parallel connnections to meet required voltages and capacities.

Users of module products want a balance between constant high input and output in a short time and battery life. Toshiba has met this increasing demand with a new module that is the first to feature an aluminum baseplate. Aluminum is an excellent conductor, and the new module dissipates heat at approximately twice the rate of current battery modules.

Aluminum has a lower the thermal resistance than the resin materials usually used in baseplates. However, as it is a conductor, the baseplate must be insulated from the battery cells. Toshiba has developed a novel structure that achieves the required voltage resistance, allowing commercialization. When used with the same cooling system normally applied by customers, and under typical operating conditions, heat dissipation performance is approximately double that of current modules, significantly extending battery life.

Adding new products to its module lineup allows Toshiba to respond flexibly to customer demands and application requirements. Toshiba will continue to offer products that leverage the unique features of its SCiB^TM lithium-ion battery, while fully considering customer lifecycle costs, from installation to maintenance and disposal.

Product information: https://www.global.toshiba/ww/products-solutions/battery/scib/product/module/2p12s.html

Product specification and Instruction manual can be downloaded from the following link. Please note that user registration is required to access the documents.
Data Download | SCiB™ Rechargeable battery | Toshiba

TAIPEI, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Techman Robot has announced a strategic collaboration with Panasonic Connect’s Welding Systems Division, aiming to accelerate the development of welding automation solutions.

By combining Techman Robot’s advanced collaborative robot technology with Panasonic’s extensive experience in the welding field, the two companies are opening new opportunities in the automation of welding processes. Since establishing their partnership in 2023, both parties have been working closely to meet market demands and will now strengthen their activities in the Japanese market.

To simplify robot welding setup, Techman Robot has developed the “Welding Node” module. This new solution integrates seamlessly with Panasonic’s fully digital welding machines, helping to address the growing labor shortage in the welding industry by streamlining automation.

Techman Robot’s built-in vision system and AI functionality also contribute to intuitive, simple, and flexible operation. These features are expected to further enhance automation on welding lines.

By combining their technologies, Techman Robot and Panasonic aim not only to accelerate automation but also to expand applications through evolving AI capabilities.

SINGAPORE, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Hydra X, a leading provider of end-to-end market infrastructure for digital and traditional financial markets for financial institutions, has announced the successful launch of the Sigma Value Token on the Canton Network—marking the first tokenized structured product to go live on the institutional-grade blockchain.

This milestone follows a strategic partnership between Hydra X and Canton Network, a purpose-built Layer 1 protocol designed to meet the compliance, privacy, and scalability needs of financial institutions.

“These types of structured investment opportunities are a great addition to the Canton Network ecosystem. Investors are looking for innovative ways to optimize yield and diversify their portfolios at the same time,” said Georg Schneider, Head of Financial Products at Digital Asset. “Hydra X’s Sigma Value Token showcases how institutions can leverage the Canton Network to deliver compliant, scalable, and privacy-preserving financial innovations to the market.”

The Sigma Value Token, developed by Sigma Value in partnership with Hydra X, is a market-neutral, high-yield note designed for institutional and accredited investors, and offers steady returns independent of ETH price movements.

“The Sigma Value Token is just the beginning,” said Mark Tang, VP of Client Solutions at Hydra X. “We’re excited to deepen our collaboration with the Canton Network and introduce more tokenized products that reshape how capital markets operate.”

About Hydra X

Hydra X is a leading provider of end-to-end market infrastructure for both digital and traditional financial markets. It offers a fully compliant digital asset ecosystem, designed to ensure seamless integration with traditional financial systems. With a strong focus on the tokenization of real-world assets, Hydra X enables institutions to unlock liquidity and efficiency in capital markets through secure, scalable, and interoperable infrastructure.

Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and other jurisdictions, the Hydra X group operates as a licensed broker for the distribution of securities, an exchange for secondary trading, and a custodian for secure safekeeping and settlement.

For more information, visit our website or LinkedIn.

About the Canton Network

The Canton Network is the financial industry’s first and only public chain that can achieve on-chain privacy, control, and interoperability, making it the most suitable network for institutional assets. The Network launched for testing with the participation of a group of leading financial institutions, infrastructure providers, technology firms, and consultants in August 2023. Initially built upon Digital Asset’s technology, the Network’s controls, governance, and app development have been open-sourced and decentralized to be managed by all participants, with the goal of fostering greater innovation and Network utility. The Canton Network’s design overcomes the shortfalls of existing blockchain networks by enabling previously siloed systems in finance to become interoperable and synchronized in ways that had been impossible before. Offering the privacy and controls required for highly regulated organizations, the Canton Network creates a safe environment in which assets, data, and cash can move freely across applications in real-time, unlocking new efficiencies and powering innovation.

Learn more at: www.canton.network