Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka is launching a new media company in partnership with four-time NBA champion LeBron James aimed at telling stories that cross cultural barriers, the former world number one announced on Tuesday.
Hana Kuma , which translates to "flower bear," will produce stories that are "culturally specific but universal to all audiences" and already has multiple projects lined up, according to the Hollywood Reporter .
"What excites me is being able to inspire people and tell new stories, particularly ones that I would have wanted to see when I was a kid. I always wanted to kind of see someone like me," four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who has a Haitian father and Japanese mother, told the New York Times .
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James and Maverick Carter's The SpringHill Company will serve as financing, operations and producing partner for Hana Kuma , the paper said.
The production company is the latest project from the 24-year-old Osaka and her long-time agent Stuart Duguid.
The duo also have a sports agency named Evolve, which signed Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios as the first member of its roster on Monday.
