Richard Edlund, a special effects master who is president and CEO of Boss Film Studios, has launched a start-up for the production of digital films in Yokohama, Japan.

The winner of four Academy Awards for his work on Stars Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return Of The Jedi, Edlund intends to use his new Yokohama base to penetrate the Asian market.

The as-yet-named company is capitalised at $80,000 (Y10m), of which Edlund is providing one-third. Edlund will serve as chairman and Larry Kubota, a visiting professor at Hitotsubashi University, as president. The company expects to get a $120,000 (Y15m) cash injection from a Yokohama investment firm next month.

Using these funds, Edlund plans to build a studio in Yokohama by the spring of next year.

A co-founder of Industrial Light and Magic, Edlund went independent in 1983 as president and chairman of Boss Film Studios. Recent credits include Species, Multiplicity and Air Force One. Boss Films previously did extensive work in the Japanese market, but withdrew in 1997.