CITIZEN will sponsor a “light event” to be held in the City of Bern, the capital of Switzerland, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Switzerland. In this event named “TRANJS”, CITIZEN will exhibit its latest models of Eco-Drive*1 watches under the themes of “light” and “time” as part of the Cool Japan Exhibition showcasing Japan’s leading-edge technologies.

Since its founding in 1930, CITIZEN has been in the pursuit of breaking new horizons in watchmaking to create better watches for a greater number of consumers. In 1976, it successfully developed its proprietary technology Eco-Drive that powers watches by converting “light” into electric energy to keep “time”. This Eco-Drive system enables watches to run anywhere on the planet where there is light. In other words, this technology which makes it possible to create watches “that citizens across the globe can equally wear and use”, is the centerpiece of CITIZEN’s corporate philosophy. Converting light into time, CITIZEN’s Eco-Drive technology continues evolution at this moment under the concept “TIME×LIGHT×FUTURE” to break another horizon of the future.

The event “TRANJS” that CITIZEN will sponsor has “light” for its theme and will be produced by Motoko Ishii and Akari-Lisa Ishii, internationally acclaimed lighting designers. In the landmark year of 2014 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Switzerland, the event is intended to introduce wonderful features of Japan to a wide audience in the country. The event, which will be held in the Swiss capital Bern, is already drawing attention as the single outdoor event open to the public without charge.

The event which will be held on September 28 and 29, 2014 at Bundeshaus Plaza, the City of Bern’s largest public square, will feature Japanese high technologies along with the philosophy pursuing comfort and cool that underpin the country’s technology. With the theme of “time” spanning 150 years over which Japan and Switzerland advanced together, a newly created video art work introducing Japanese culture from 150 years ago will be presented in the world’s first interactive projection and light performance using a large-scale outdoor projector. Also, eight tents constructed in the plaza will house an exhibition introducing Japan’s world-class technologies, with the keyword “trans”, the prefix denoting “transcend time - space”.

*1 Eco-Drive is CITIZEN’s proprietary technology that powers watches using any natural or artificial light source, eliminating the need for replacing batteries.