The Star Wars brainstrust at LucasFilm spent their weekend celebrating the fact that JJ Abrams' Episode VII – The Force Awakens is now less than 300 days from arriving in American theaters. But the company is also strongly courting international audiences with new marketing materials.

In Japan, where stories of robots and space battles frequently top the box office, LucasFilm has been trumpeting the December 18 release of the film under the banner "Star Wars Year." Readers at the website SciFied snapped the above picture of a Japanese public transit ad promoting the date in a wide format not even seen here in the U.S. yet (though places like the New York subway system will doubtlessly be bombarded closer to release).

Meanwhile, CBR tracked down the first Japanese teaser for the film and posted it on our new CBR Trailers YouTube channel. Check out the international presentation of the footage below.