Repucom is helping the J.League "expand its presence in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia," according to Kaz Nagatsuka of the JAPAN TIMES. Cultivating influence in a new market "requires elaborate preparation." The J.League "certainly acknowledges that and has mapped out its strategy based on reliable marketing data to make its projects as successful as possible." Repucom "started its partnership" with the J.League in May and supplies it "with large amounts of accountable marketing research data and evaluates it in a way that helps the league best maximize its marketability in the Asian region." Repucom Japan President Hideyuki Hata said, "As the J.League has their global strategy and needs marketing research, we help them be recognized in Asia as much as possible. That’s one of the biggest roles for us." Repucom "has its own image recognition computer system." With that system, Repucom "automatically calculates sponsorship values of the ads that appear on team jerseys and on the sideline boards through the television screen." The J.League formed an Asian strategy division in '11 "and has entered partnership accords with six professional leagues in Southest Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia)" (JAPAN TIMES, 3/1).