--Please tell us again about the TicketMe service.
Chikeo:Me is a marketplace where you can buy and sell tickets for all kinds of goods and services.
Currently, it is widely used for the exchange of event tickets, and VIP seats for Japanese national clients such as HORIPRO and TOHO are sold as NFT tickets.
--Please tell us how you came to establish Chikemy.
Chikeo: I moved to Tokyo in April 2021 when I entered Waseda University, and one day when I visited Ikebukuro with a friend who wanted to buy a bicycle, I saw a man selling clothes on the street.
There, new Converse and Playboys were being sold for 500 yen, and I was curious about how he stocked the products in the shop, so I became friends with the man and asked him to talk to me.
I took a hint from what he told me at the time and finally decided that it would be better to do EC instead of shops, so I started my first business.After setting up the EC site and selling it after about six months, I joined a venture capital company called East Ventures and worked as a researcher for a while. I worked as a researcher for a while.
At that time, I gained a better understanding of the logistics market and became even more interested in the logistics industry than before. This led me to wonder if it would be possible to create a ‘value distribution platform that could distribute all kinds of goods’, and here I am today.
--What is the concept behind Chichemie?
Chikeo: We have two concepts: ‘Finding hidden value’ and ‘Delivering value where it belongs’. In terms of ‘finding hidden value’, there are times when products do not sell because they are not marketed properly, even though they are good products.
To address such issues, we believe that if we provide a system that can provide liquidity, those who are good at marketing will be able to purchase and sell a lot of products at discounted prices.
In logistics, a variety of goods are transported by rail, ship and car, and I believe that the containers used by trading companies and others are intended to reduce the various costs involved in logistics by standardising standards. We would also like to provide a system where all rights are put on the same standard (ticket) and can be bought and sold across platforms.
--What measures are you taking to deal with the issue of resale?
Chikeo: As a precondition, we believe that a situation where tickets can be bought at any time and sold at any time is an important aspect of the market principle. The problem with resale is the ‘hoarding’ part. Strictly speaking, the problem is the situation where a buy-out occurs and the price is unfairly inflated.
On the other hand, it is not a problem that prices are raised on secondary distribution markets, such as auctions abroad, and that market transactions are established. I believe that being valued correctly and distributed freely is a correct market principle.
However, the law is in the process of trying to solve the root causes, and the fact is that the Law on the Prohibition of Illicit Resale of Tickets and other laws have restricted the results more. Regarding the definition of unauthorised resale, it is often incorrectly recognised that since it is resale that is prohibited by the seller, there is basically no problem if the seller allows it.
At the moment, although there have been legal restrictions on unauthorised resale, it is only the acts that the seller considers to be unauthorised that are not allowed.
--What are Chichemie's strengths that differentiate it from its competitors?
Chikeo: Chikemy is the first NFT ticket sales platform in Japan, so I think we have an advantage in terms of buying and selling NFT tickets. In other more obvious ways, we have a patent on the sale of NFT tickets.
Specifically, it is a technology that allows us to restrict the actions required in secondary distribution, such as the display of a QR code or an address input code when executing the rights to goods or services received (SBT-isation).
In the buying and selling of tickets and rights, the issue of double consumption is certain to arise. When receiving goods or redeeming services, the problem is that the ticket or right is still in secondary circulation after the goods have been received or the right has been exercised.
For example, in the case of event tickets, after displaying the QR code and gaining entry, the person could sell the ticket to a completely different person, who could then use the QR code once used to gain re-entry.
In the case of goods, it can happen that after receiving the goods, they are distributed to another person who then receives them again. It is also possible to sell a ticket that cannot be received and use it for fraud.
We call this the ‘double consumption problem’. The advantage of the patented technology acquired by CHICEMY is that it basically prevents the problem of double consumption.
--In the future, it seems that SBT could also be used for marketing purposes.
Chikeo: The more events you go to and the more things you buy, the more tickets you accumulate on your My Page as a history of your activities. You can enjoy tickets to live shows of the artists you support and save them on your My Page, just like on Instagram.
So the management can take measures such as improving the repeat rate by designing tickets in a different way.
In addition, the purchase history and purchase routes can be visualised, so it can be used for measures to find the most appropriate sales route. I think it is interesting that distribution channels that were difficult to visualise on the internet can now be made transparent and optimal distribution channels can be discovered.
--Are there any products you would like to handle in the future?
Chikeo: Although we are currently handling some products, we would like more exhibitors and producers to take part in our events, other than tickets and event vouchers.
For example, you can buy a pre-processed tree for around 3,000 yen, but when it comes to the final processed columns, they can be traded for tens or hundreds of thousands of yen. However, the processing and transport costs are not as high as you might think, and the cost of indirect sales, where the goods are purchased and then wholesaled to another person, is added to the cost of the product.
The total market for indirect sales in retail in Japan is around ¥100 trillion.
This is the market for indirect sales, where goods are purchased and then wholesaled, and further wholesaling takes place on the shop floor. If we can simplify the hassle of indirect sales by converting the exchange related to indirect sales into tickets, cash flow can be accelerated, capital efficiency can be improved and I think it will be possible to complete wholesale online.
--Are there any measures in place in case the polygon chain utilised by Chickemie stops working?
Chikeo: There have been no blockchain stoppages in Polygon, but we are working on a multi-chain solution in case of such an event. Most recently, we will be able to support the Aster network.
--There are some aspects of tax law regarding NFTs that are not fully in place, but I would like to know about the taxes that may arise from the exchange of tickets on Chickemie.
Chikeo: In terms of the NFT, we are settling in Japanese yen, so I don't think there is much of a problem in terms of tax law. On the other hand, what is relevant is the invoice system. As a business, I think we need to deal with the areas where consumption tax is applicable.
Until now, when buying and selling goods, no consumption tax was charged if the transaction was between individuals. However, if the invoice system makes it possible to charge consumption tax even between individuals, such as freelancers, there will be a 10% consumption tax on the difference for the goods purchased, so we think we need to respond to this as a platform.
Another point is royalties. In the future we are thinking about being able to offer royalty fees of between 5% and 20% to the distributor.
If the royalty is received by a corporation, it is of course treated as income, and if it is an individual, it is counted as miscellaneous income, so the tax on this is also something that the platform has to deal with.
--I feel that you work very well with businesses that have payment infrastructure, is there a possibility of business partnerships in the future?
Chikeo: I think we have very good compatibility with businesses that have payment infrastructure, such as JPYC and Slash, with whom we are currently partnering. On a personal note, JPYC's CEO, Okabe-san, was also someone I followed his daily posts on social networking sites, so I am very excited about the partnership (laughs).
I believe that investment targets are shifting. Government bonds, corporate bonds and equities, crypto assets, NFTs, etc. I believe that the trend of Pokémon cards starting to be seen as an investment product is also happening because traditional investment products have become saturated.
I believe the same can be said for tickets to products and events that do not see the light of day. I expect to see more activity in the direction that Chichemy is aiming for, such as the future marketing of rights and goods with low liquidity on Chichemy, where people who are attracted to the goods can do the marketing on their behalf.
JPYC is also highly compatible with Chichemy in the sense that it connects crypto assets and actual commodities. We are very excited about the inclusion of crypto assets and stable coins in Chichemy this time.
--Is there anything you pay attention to in team building?
Chickeo: ‘Hiring good people’. Having attractive competencies is certainly important and the first thing we look at, but at the end of the day, it is the quality of the people that determines whether we want this person to join or not.
There's a book called The Limits of Organisations, which explains the functions of an organisation that are not included in the functions of the market, and in it it explains that only in autocracy can both unanimity and binary independence be established.
In order for an organisation to last for a long time, I think it is necessary to have a strong vision and to go through with decisions that are sometimes seemingly unreasonable. An organisation where each individual is driven solely by their own individual motivations is not very attractive. I think organisations that are a bit more organically connected are better able to leverage and grow.
Being good people means that the whole organisation can respect and trust each other. I believe that when problems arise, we can overcome them with dedication, cooperation and smiles.
--What are the future prospects for Chichemie?
Chikeo: Through Chikemi, we want to start a distribution revolution. Everything can be bought and sold easily by anyone on a ticket. We are trying to realise a world where you can sell anytime and buy anytime.
--Chikeo, what about you as an individual?
Chikeo: Actually, I got married last year and we are going to have a baby. When you have a family, you start thinking about the next generation. When I think about the next generation and the next generation after that, I think about how we can live in a world where everyone discovers their own value, is discovered and feels their life is worth living.
I would be happy to be part of such a world.
[How to buy tickets and the process of buying tickets on TicketMe]
Searching for tickets
Find the ticket you want from the ‘Tickets’ list. You can also log in to the ticket page directly from the link.
Purchasing tickets
There are two ways to purchase ‘tickets’ on Chikemy: (1) - a Purchase from the organiser, (1) - b Purchase from a secondary seller, and (2) Purchase by making an offer (three types if broken down into smaller pieces).
For (2), a purchase offer can be sent to users who have not yet used ‘Tickets’, and as soon as the recipient of the purchase offer accepts the offer, the user will receive an email notification.
The user is then able to access Chickemi again and follow the instructions on the screen to complete the purchase of the ‘ticket’. If the user wants to change the offer after making a purchase offer, the offer can be cancelled or changed from the ‘Manage Purchase Offers’ menu in the hamburger menu after logging in.
[The process of selling and selling tickets]
Register as a new member / Log in
First, register as a new member on the site.
Tap ‘Issue Tickets’ from the menu.
Open the menu from the hamburger button on the right-hand side of the page and tap the ‘Issue Ticket’ button at the bottom of the menu.
Select the type of ticket
Select the type of ‘ticket’ to issue. Currently, three types of ticket can be issued on Chichemie: ‘Event ticket’, ‘Goods exchange ticket’ and ‘Membership’.
Register ticket information.
Register ticket information. The information to be entered differs depending on the type of ticket.
◉Daisuke Miyashita
Daisuke Miyashita started his own apparel e-commerce site upon entering Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics. In June 2022, he founded Ticket Me, Japan's first NFT ticket sales platform. He was appointed as Representative Director.
◉TicketMe.
Japan's first Makepeople application for selling and buying electronic tickets such as event tickets, merchandise vouchers and memberships. In October 2023, TicketMe was granted a patent for technology to control ticket resale.
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