Japan’s Largest Tableware Festival

Tableware Festival is scheduled to take place at the Tokyo Dome for 10 days from January 27 to February 5, 2023.

It is the first time in three years since 2020 that the event will be held at the Tokyo Dome; approximately 250,000 people, mostly female fans in their 30s and 40s, attended the event in 2020.

In addition to popular Japanese brands such as Christofle and Bernard, the overseas area titled Galerie de Paris – Touring Paris, will introduce brands that are rarely seen in Japan, such as Degrène and Marie d’Agde. The domestic production area will include Arita-yaki porcelain which has evolved beautifully over its 400-year history, including the Kakiemon style, which spread the appeal of Japanese overglaze enameling to the world, white porcelain, underglaze blue porcelain, and celadon porcelain.

The Celebration Champagne – The Glass Brilliance project will also be held to present a selection of Japanese and Western glassware along with crystal tableware to coordinate with the special scene.

In addition to the new Tea Garden, where you can enjoy your favorite tea in your favorite cup in a tea garden filled with greenery, there will also be a special program 30 Years of History which will exhibit and introduce the production regions in Japan under different themes.

Online events will also be held simultaneously, offering content that allows visitors to enjoy the exhibition more deeply at the venue, as well as the opportunity to experience the charm of the Tableware Festival before and after their visit, regardless of time or location.

Ghibli Park’s First Area Opened in Aichi Prefecture

On November 1, Ghibli Park opened in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, as a part of the Aichi Expo Memorial Park (Moricoro Park).

Tickets go on sale on the 10th of each month and are reserved by date and time for each area.

Ghibli Park shows the world of Studio Ghibli, created at the Expo 2005 Aichi – Japan Commemorative Park (Moricoro Park).

There are no big attractions or rides, but just a place to walk, feel the wind and discover the secrets of the forest and roads as they are.

The first part of the park opened with The Great Warehouse of Ghibli, The Hill of Youth and Dondoko Mori. The Great Warehouse of Ghibli is an indoor facility filled with exhibits of Ghibli’s works, both large and small. It is said to include robot soldiers, a cat bus, soft child-sized items, and a number of secret works.

The second area is scheduled to open in 2023.

Furusato Matsuri Tokyo 2023

Furusato Matsuri Tokyo 2023 – Japanese Festival, Taste of Home will take place at Tokyo Dome for 10 days from January 13 to 22, 2023.

In the past, Furusato Matsuri Tokyo has attracted a total of more than 4.4 million visitors to date but was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to the effects of COVID-19. This year, the 13th edition of the festival will be held for the first time in three years.

The 12th National GOTOCHI DONBURI Championship will feature the finest local donburi from all over Japan. Visitors can compare and vote for their favorite bowls, and 14 bowls will compete for the No. 1 position. Hachinohe silver mackerel toro zuke-don (Aomori Prefecture) and nodoguro donburi (Shimane Prefecture), which won the Grand Prix twice in the past championships, will be exhibited in the Hall of Fame.

Nigiwai Market will showcase more than 300 delicacies from all over the country, with a wide range of foods from A-grade gourmet such as seafood (sea urchin, salmon roe, etc.) and brand beef to traditional dishes and local noodles for visitors to enjoy.

During the Furusato Matsuri Tokyo, a total of more than 50 local characters including Funassyi, Akkuma and Nyango Star will make appearances.

Admission tickets with seating will also be sold to enjoy the event at a leisurely pace, taking advantage of the new seats installed as a result of the renovation of the Tokyo Dome.

Exhibition Hall 1 Reopens at Port Messe Nagoya

Port Messe Nagoya (Nagoya International Exhibition Hall) reopened its exhibition hall on October 1st, 2022. Opening up with a speech by Mr. Takashi Kawamura, the Mayor of Nagoya City, the commemorative ceremony was held inside the facility’s convention center.

“The industries in the Ise Bay area, including Nagoya, support the entire nation. We would like to use the renewal of Port Messe Nagoya, which is the keystone of our industry, as an opportunity to enliven Nagoya. With the support of the municipality, we need to actively reach out domestically and internationally to attract all kinds of events.”

Aichi Prefecture Governor Hideaki Omura also took the stage as a guest of honor. “The former Building No. 1 has long been a leader in events and MICE in Aichi and Nagoya. I have great expectations that the renovated facility will help to further boost MICE in the region. We would like to promote cooperation with Aichi Sky Expo and revitalize MICE in Aichi and Nagoya,” he said.

The features of the new Exhibition Hall 1 were introduced at the preview after the ceremony. The exterior of the building is designed with waves, while the roof of the facility incorporates a ship’s bottom as a motif. The roof is made of a wood-grain material that is fire retardant, making it safe in the event of a disaster. The exhibition hall is a 20,000 m2 pillarless space with a 20 m ceiling height and manually operated partitions.

The full version of the video shown at the opening ceremony is now available on YouTube. You can watch it here

For more information, visit https://portmesse-pr.com/

Hachioji’s MONOZUKURI EXPO 2022

Hachioji MONOZUKURI EXPO 2022 will be held in November at Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe.

The Hachioji Manufacturing Event Executive Committee and Hachioji City will hold the Hachioji MONOZUKURI EXPO 2022 on November 11 and 12 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Industrial Exchange Center (Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe), which will open in Hachioji Myojincho, Tokyo, in October. The operating secretariat is Nippon Convention Service.

In addition to exhibiting and introducing new products and services that contribute to the solution of cutting-edge technological fields and social issues being tackled by companies from within and outside the city, conferences and workshops will be held on different themes to promote alliances among companies and create new business opportunities.

Approximately 60 companies and organizations are expected to exhibit in the four categories of Manufacturing, Technology and Materials, Medical and Healthcare, Environment and Energy, and Social and Regional Issues. Free seminars will be held on the stage in the venue, with lectures on the themes of DX, decarbonization, robotics, and healthcare. Small-group workshops with advance reservations are also planned.

Bio-medical Exhibitions at Pacifico Yokohama

Three bio-medical exhibitions took place at Pacifico Yokohama: BioJapan / Regenerative medicine JAPAN / healthTECH JAPAN.

JTB Communication Design, Bioindustry Association, and Regenerative Medicine Innovation Forum held BioJapan, Regenerative Medicine JAPAN, and healthTECH JAPAN at Pacifico Yokohama from October 12 to 14, 2022.

Under the keywords of “Global,” “Trends in Cell/Gene Therapy and Manufacturing Processes,” and “Bioeconomy/Bio Manufacturing,” the exhibition attracted more than 140% of the total number of exhibitors compared to the previous year, including approximately 800 companies and organizations from concurrent exhibitions. The latest technologies in the fields of pharmaceuticals and drug discovery, food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock, research equipment, reagents, consumables, and facilities, cell generation and culture technologies and products, and drug discovery were presented, as well as a special digital life science corner and regional pavilions.

Presentations and medical ventures exhibited booths were part of the concurrent Japan Healthcare Venture Summit 2022.

Food Development Exhibition 2022

The Food Development Exhibition 2022 was held at the West Halls 1 and 2 & Atrium of Tokyo Big Sight for three days from October 12 to 14, 2022.

Organized by Informa Markets Japan Inc. the Food Development Expo 2022 is a specialized exhibition for food products related to health, taste, safety, quality, and food longevity.

This year’s event will feature four exhibitions: Health Ingredients Japan (Hi Japan) for healthy ingredients, Food Taste Japan (FiT Japan) for flavor-related materials and technologies, Safety & Technology (S-tec Japan) for analysis and measurement, hygiene materials, and manufacturing technologies, and Food Long Life Japan (LLj) for food loss reduction.

The Plant-Based Food Development Corner, New Food Resources Corner, Fermentation Materials Pavilion, and Digitalization Promotion & AI Technology Corner for Safety and Quality Improvement were also set up.

More than 450 major companies in food ingredients, manufacturing technology, and quality control technology from Japan and abroad were displaying their products.

TOKYO PACK 2022

Tokyo International Packaging Exhibition (TOKYO PACK 2022) took place at Tokyo Big Sight for three days from October 12 to 14, 2022.

TOKYO PACK is Asia’s largest comprehensive packaging exhibition, covering various fields from production, logistics, distribution, sales, consumption, disposal and recycling, focusing on packaging materials, packaging machinery, packaging processing machinery, food processing machinery, related equipment, environmentally friendly equipment, and distribution equipment.

The main theme of this year’s event is “New Era Package: Functional Evolution and Mission for the Future”. The number of exhibiting companies was 406 and the number of registered visitors (the total number of people who registered with a visitor registration ticket during the show and those who pre-registered online and actually visited the venue) was 53,466.

More than 70 sessions of seminars on packaging trends were held at the venue during the exhibition period, inviting key persons from Japan and abroad.

Additionally, three following services were made available for online viewing as well: Exhibit Product Video Gallery, Exhibitor News Release Page, and TOKYO PACK HYBRID (index page for exhibitors holding virtual exhibitions separate from the in-person show).

CEATEC 2022

CEATEC 2022 featuring 562 companies and organizations is scheduled to take place in Makuhari Messe for the first time in three years.

For four days from October 18 to 21, The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) will hold CEATEC 2022, an exhibition aimed at realizing Society 5.0.

A media convention was held for the press on October 17, the day before the exhibition opening.

On the same day, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, the Minister of Digital Affairs Award, and the Category Award also decided for the CEATEC AWARD for exhibited products, services, and technologies.

The award ceremony was held on the evening of the 17th at Toranomon Hills Forum.

Executive Producer Kiyoshi Shikano said: “In 2019, 44% of all visitors stayed at the venue for more than four hours per day, but we hope they stay longer this year. Co-creation requires a lot of time and is created through conversations between visitors and exhibitors. Six working spaces were set up at the venue for this purpose. We want visitors to be more productive during the exhibition” he said.

This year’s hybrid format, including the first in-person event in three years, will feature 562 companies and organizations from Japan and abroad (21 companies and organizations online only; 314 companies in 2021 and 787 in 2019). Of these, 266 companies and organizations were new exhibitors making it 47% of the total. 81 companies and organizations from startups and university research institutes will exhibit, alongside 146 overseas companies from 27 countries and regions. The exhibition will be held in 5 halls from Exhibition Halls 4 to 8.

The main feature is the Partners Park, which will be located in Halls 5 and 6, where more than 150 exhibiting companies and organizations will bring their resources to propose co-creation that will lead to the realization of Society 5.0. Halls 7-8 are the Total Solution Area, where Japan’s leading consumer electronics manufacturers and others will exhibit. Japan’s leading electronic component manufacturers and key device manufacturers will gather in the Key Technology Area in Halls 4-5. The Smart x Industry area, also in Halls 4-5, features specialized exhibits, including mobility.

Osaka Subsidy Programs for Hybrid MICE Events

The Osaka Prefectural Government and the Osaka Municipal Government will jointly provide the “Second Osaka MICE Hybrid Subsidy” to promote the holding of MICE events in Osaka and to encourage related parties and participants to come to Osaka, thereby revitalizing the city’s economy and make it more attractive as a city. The subsidy will be provided to MICE organizers and companies, and applications for the second half of the fiscal year will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Eligible projects are hybrid MICE to be held at facilities in Osaka Prefecture that meet all the requirements.

The requirements are: 1) events that contribute to the promotion of academics, technology, culture, art, international exchange, economy, and industry (international conferences, domestic conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs, etc.) and invite participants; 2) the duration of the event at the venue must be at least two days; 3) the number of participants at the venue must be at least 50 and online participants at least 200; 4) facilities in Osaka with a capacity of at least 100 people must be used; and 5) measures to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infection must be implemented in compliance with administrative requirements and guidelines from industry organizations.

Each grant recipient may apply only once in the same fiscal year.

Expenses eligible for subsidy are expenses for online distribution among expenses for hybrid MICE held at facilities in Osaka Prefecture (expenses for equipment, installation work, operator personnel, web environment construction, video editing, and use of venues dedicated for distribution are eligible, excluding consumption tax and local consumption tax).

The subsidy rate and limit are equivalent to one-half of the subsidy-eligible expenses (rounded down to the nearest 1,000 yen, with a maximum of 500,000 yen per event).

The grant period is from October 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023, and applications will be accepted from September 1 to 30, 2022. The budget for the grant is 5 million yen.

Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and the application period will be closed when the budget limit is reached. Applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the date of the MICE event for which the subsidy is requested.