On July 20, AEON Mall Co., Ltd opened FULALI KYOBASHI as a temporary facility until redevelopment of the site of the former AEON Kyobashi Mall in Miyakojima Ward, Osaka is completed.

The facility is adjacent to JR Kyobashi Station, a terminal station in Eastern Osaka.

Including the parking lot, it is possible to use FULALI KYOBASHI as up to 8,500m² of event space.

The name induces the image of a place to casually drop by for a short visit. FULALI is also a portmanteau of the words FULL and ALIVE.

3 dining areas have been established: a food truck zone, a market stall area, and a food hall.

The concert stage, which consists of a lawn plaza and a large LED vision monitor, allows visitors to watch sports and entertainment events while enjoying food and beverages.

Furthermore, AEON Mall is aiming to bring into reality a “commercial facility that is considerate of people and the environment” and is working to reduce CO₂ emissions through the use of LED for signage and lighting, therefore making the heat load more efficient.

From October 4 to 6, the Fall 2023 International Premium Incentive Show (PI Show) was held at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

At the opening ceremony on the 4th, Nobuyuki Haga, president of Business Guide-Sha, which was the organizer of the event, spoke regarding the current situation of the sales promotion industry. “Changes in society are affecting sales promotion, such as the establishment of new ways of living and the value systems of Generation Z,” stated Haga. “Accompanying the diversification of the role of promotional tools, an entirely new approach has become necessary. There is no doubt that new customer needs will emerge in the next 5 to 10 years.” He continued on to explain that this year’s theme is “The Future of Sales Promotion that Drives the Japanese Economy.” Haga expressed his enthusiasm about the PI Show’s potential as a platform to “develop and spread sales promotions and in-store promotions at the venue to ensure the success of sales promotion tools.”

ROXY Gmbh. CEO Hideyuki Uchibayashi, who represented the exhibitors in his greeting, stated that although there was a sense of stagnation in the exhibition during the Covid-19 pandemic, “this year’s spring PI Show had a completely different atmosphere. Attendees visited many booths, and we were able to conduct business meetings and consultations, as well as receive orders. I believe that the next 3 days will host the most important and brilliant show of the past 3 years.” Uchibayashi called for exhibitors to “do our best and liven up this fall’s Premium Incentive Show.”

On October 5, Katana Marketing & Entertainment announced plans to open Immersive Fort Tokyo, a theme park consisting entirely of immersive experiences, in the spring of 2024.

The facility will be an entirely indoor, all-weather theme park covering approximately 30,000 square meters. Immersive Fort Tokyo will contain 12 attractions for full day’s worth of immersion, as well as 6 restaurants and shops.

Immersive Fort represents a business model that repurposes commercial facilities as theme parks.

Reusing the building from the commercial establishment Venus Fort, which closed its doors in March of 2022, the park will take advantage of the exquisitely detailed European cityscape of the former shopping center. The facility will be redefined as a space for immersing oneself in a story and will be integrated with live entertainment, including sound, lighting, and detailed decorations. It will be revitalized as a place where visitors can get completely absorbed into the experience.

In addition, an EV Cart Circuit facility is planned to be opened nearby on the sight of the former Palette Town entertainment complex.

Drinktec, the world’s leading trade fair in the beverage and liquid food industry held in Munich, Germany, and BrauBeviale, Europe’s leading capital goods trade fair in the beverage industry held in Nuremberg, have agreed to form a joint venture, named YONTEX, effective July 1, 2023.

YONTEX has its headquarters in Nuremberg, and its CEO was chosen to be Rolf W Keller, former Nuremberg Division Head, who has decades of experience in beverage industry trade fairs. Both fairs fall under the YONTEX umbrella, but they continue to operate as independent brands, with trade show name and venue remaining the same.

Albert Fueracker, Minister for Finance and Home Affairs of Bavaria, welcomed the partnership, stating, “The joint venture between Nuremberg Messe and Messe Munchen in the field of beverage technology will strengthen Bavaria’s leading role in this industry’s trade fairs on a global scale.”

The first trade fair organized by YONTEX will be BrauBeviale, to be held from November 28 to 30, 2023, in Nuremberg, and it will continue to be run the same as before. In addition, drinktec will be held in Munich once every 4 years, the next event being in 2025.

Drinktec’s India and China events were not affected by the partnership. The annual Drink Technology India and the biennial China Brew China Beverage will continue to be held as usual.

YONTEX’s organization is made up of 19 people from drinktec and BrauBeviale.

Organizational Structure:
CEO: Rolf M. Keller (Former Nuremberg Messe Division Head)
Executive Vice President: Petra Westphal (Former Messe Munchen drinktec Worldwide Project Manager)
Executive Director BrauBeviale: Andrea Kaitait
Executive Director drinktec Cluster: Markus Kosak
Executive Director Operations: Moritz Mueller

From January 26 to 28, 2024, the first ever TOKYO XR, Metaverse & Content Business World will be held in the Tokyo Big Sight’s East Halls 3-4. A simultaneous online exhibition will run from January 19 to 31. The event is organized by the 2024 XR and Metaverse Industry Exhibition Executive Committee (made up of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, XR Consortium, Metaverse Japan, and Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

In Tokyo, there is a concentration of businesses in the XR and Metaverse market, which is expected to continue growing in the near future, as well as companies that produce content essential to the creation of rich digital spaces. By using the exhibition as a means of combining the strengths of each company, TOKYO XR, Metaverse & Content Business World aims to create new business and expand markets, thereby further stimulating industry in Tokyo.

In addition to the exhibition and business meetings that will encourage content production, the trade fair will also feature exhibitor pitch events with varying themes, seminars and workshops to teach about XR and Metaverse, and hands-on activities in which all attendees will be able to participate.

Exhibitor applications opened on October 19. Companies that can exhibit are small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed creators, and organizations, on the condition that they are based in Tokyo and conduct business both in Japan and abroad. Exhibition fees vary depending on participation in the online event and placement in one of the following four categories:

1. Small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations
2. Small business owners
3. Self-employed creators
4. Large enterprises

The deadline to apply is December 8.

(This article is a reprint of an excerpt from the June 15, 2023 issue of “Trade Fair and Exhibition News” #900.)

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the exhibition business has been going through a period of major transformation. Therefore, we spoke with President Takeshi Tanaka of RX Japan, a leading Japanese exhibition organizer, to learn about his vision for the near future.

―The determination to continue leading the race―

Thoughts on moving to the new RX Central Station office

In April of this year, we moved our office to the newly completed Tokyo Midtown Yaesu building in front of Tokyo Station. The new office’s concept in “RX Central Station.” Situated in view of Japan’s largest “RX Central Station”, Tokyo Station, it represents the idea that not only RX employees but everyone involved with our company will gather here to embark towards the future.

Furthermore, the office relocation, in addition to being a milestone on our way to the future, also demonstrates our determination to continue to lead the way in the development of the exhibition industry. Currently, the exhibition industry is still not as prevalent in society as other big industries, which makes it difficult to gather good talent. I wish to break free from this status quo. Since assuming the role of president in 2019, I have been working on one initiative at a time and taking on challenges that I believe are necessary, despite the effects of the pandemic. The move to the new office is the first step in embodying my ideas, and this is simply the beginning of what is to come.

Seeking growth ~ A changing business culture

My goal is not to change the existing business culture. I believe that if I continue to desire to make the company better and to improve the company’s performance, then the business culture will naturally change. We have always been at the top of our industry, and I have been a part of it, having worked on many exhibitions and accumulated results. However, when I took over as president, I thought that it would be boring to add to our previous achievements like 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 1 = 3…

Rather than repeating ourselves and doing what is expected, I want to undertake new challenges and increase our growth rate to higher than ever before. To this end, I have decided to leave a number of duties to our employees in the field. If I interfere in the field, employees will wait for orders. I’ll be anxious at first, but I’ll become able to properly trust them. In doing so, I will stop at advice and leave the rest to them. This way, the field employees, who are the exhibition creators, are now responsible for seeing it through. Aside from exhibitions, I actually entrusted the office relocation entirely to a project team consisting mainly of field employees, and I, myself, was even looking forward to its opening.

I believe that my role is ultimately to facilitate the growth of the company and pass the baton to the next generation. Our company’s business conduct is, for example, simplifying the approval process and creating an atmosphere in which it is easy to express opinions. We are fully committed to building a work environment that is easy for employees to thrive in, such as an evaluation system and encouraging motivation that leads to successful exhibitions.

―The meaning of continuing to invest in the future―

Keeping up with changes in attendees

The platforms that make our lives easier have spread, making not only the business environment but also daily life more convenient. The speed of human traffic and information transmission will likely increase exponentially in the coming years.

In this sort of situation, as a company that will continue to launch exhibitions, we must always stay one step ahead. Instead of creating a desired platform, it is important for us to work ahead, propose a structure that calls out, “Over here, everyone!” and bring people to us. If we do not do this and keep organizing exhibitions with the same theme over and over again, it will start to feel like a class reunion, and visitors will eventually no longer have a reason to attend those exhibitions.

Reception area ~ Automation succeeds in saving time

10 years ago, at an exhibition that I was in charge of, the average time at reception per visitor was 1 minute and 30 seconds. Attendees would come to the registration counter with 2 business cards, then a staff member would staple one business card to the invitation ticket, place the other in a badge holder, and ask the attendee to fill out a questionnaire if they had not already completed it. This resulted in a line of people waiting to be admitted.

These lines would take up visitors’ time and lead to lost business opportunities for exhibitors. Even if an attendee could only stay at the venue temporarily for 2 hours, they might have to wait in line for up to 30 minutes if there were 20 people ahead of them at the reception counter. This calculation induces a matching loss of 25%.

In order to solve this problem, we strived to develop automation and digitalization of the reception counter, and we have finally brought our idea into reality. Automation has not only reduced reception time, but also the amount of trouble caused by irritated attendees, not to mention increased field work efficiency. However, this is merely a reduction in wait time, and I am not at all satisfied. Therefore, we have begun to introduce automation at some exhibitions, but…

(The rest of the interview can be read in Japanese in the back number of “Trade Fair and Exhibition News” Electronic Version)

Creation Exhibition 2023 in NAGOYA ~Asia Fashion & Food Exhibition~, a fashion and food-themed international business matching trade fair, was held from August 9 to 10 in the Fukiage Hall of the Nagoya Trade & Industry Center. The event was organized by Creation Exhibition 2023 in NAGOYA Executive Committee and N’ Show Case.

More than 150 companies from Qindao, China gathered in Nagoya. The majority of the exhibitors had already gained experience in manufacturing products with Japanese trading companies for the Japanese market.

The main advantages of the Creation Exhibition are the opportunity to network with factories in the fashion, food, and beverage industries, the large number of Chinese companies with efficient production technologies, and the attendance of exhibitors with experience in doing business with Japanese companies. Many exhibitors can also provide services in Japanese.

The exhibition consisted of 2 main areas: Fashion and Food/Beverage. The Fashion area consisted of textiles, clothing, suitcases, bags, shoes, accessories, linens, fabrics, beads, and spinning machinery. The Food/Beverage area focused on seafood, processed foods, agricultural products, frozen foods, retort pouch foods, condiments, spices, and edible oils and fats.

Admission was free with pre-registration. Creation Exhibition is a business-to-business exhibition, but students and the general public were allowed to attend.

On August 4, the Japan Ministry of the Environment selected national parks for their “Advanced Model Project for Enhancing the Appeal of Lodging in National Parks” based on their “Policy for Efforts to Enhance the Overall Appeal of National Park Activity Hubs Centered on the Accommodation Business,” which was released on June 29, 2023.

The Ministry will enhance the appeal of activity hubs by establishing a regional cooperative implementation system, formulating a master plan for hubs, instituting lodging facilities that provide unique and emotional experiences in conjunction with nature activities, and creating a mechanism for a virtuous cycle between conservation and use.

Selected National Parks

Amid a rapid recovery in demand for inbound tourism, the Ministry of the Environment has decided to promote lodging and high-value tourism, focusing on emotional experiences in the national parks’ beautiful natural areas. The Study Group for Enhancing the Overall Appeal of National Park Activity Hubs Centered on the Accommodation Business has been studying the direction of high-value use of national parks, as well as how to proceed with advanced model projects to enhance appeal of hubs centered on lodging facilities that provide the unique emotional experience of national parks.

The Ministry of the Environment selected these 3 national parks for the “Advanced Model Project for Enhancing the Appeal of Lodging in National Parks” from a policy perspective, taking into account the opinions of the specialist committee, which included experts in the field.

The selection of the candidate parks was based on the 4 sections of the action policy with a goal for future expansion to other areas.
1. A standpoint of promoting utilization over a wide area
2. Estimated significance and effectiveness of the government’s coordination and implementation of initiatives
3. A framework for building of local consensus, and action plan for utilization, and a foundation for the Ministry of the Environment’s structure
4. Inclusion of specific potential activity hubs for lodging and high-value tourism

The feasibility of the project will be examined during the current fiscal year in the selected parks from the perspective of the promotion system status and the potential of each park to promote lodging and high-value tourism. 1 or 2 activity hubs will be selected from the examination.

FOOMA JAPAN 2023 was held from June 6 to 9 in the Tokyo Big Sight’s East Exhibition Hall.

The Japan Food Machinery Manufacturer’s Association (FOOMA) organized the event. This year’s theme was “Accelerate FOOMA”.

The exhibition’s goal was to create a gathering place for food production solutions to accelerate the resolution of issues present in the food industry. In addition, companies aimed to promote a “prosperous future pioneered by food technology” through the use of cutting-edge food machinery, technology, products, and services.

A record number of 953 companies exhibited this year. The Startup Zone, which was newly instituted the previous year, was expanded to 29 companies, 20 of which were new exhibitors.

In addition, the FOOMA Tokyo Bar, a food plaza for attendee networking during the event, was instituted in a collaboration between Koto Ward and Tokyo’s 11 islands.

106,104 visitors attended the trade fair, 3,178 of which came from overseas.

Exhibition Sectors
・Raw material processing
・Food production / processing
・Snacks / Bread
・Meat / Seafood
・Noodles
・Side dishes / Cooked foods
・Beverages / Dairy products
・Agricultural products
・Tofu
・Fermentation / Brewing
・Other food products
・Engineering
・Robots / IT / Internet of Things / FoodTech
・Freshness control / Quality maintenance
・Packaging / Filling
・Preservation / Shipping / Transport
・Measurement / Analysis / Inspection
・Sanitation measures / management
・Environmental protection / Energy saving / Recycling
・Facility machinery / technology / components
・Consulting / Patents
・Information services / groups
・Startup Zone
・Academic conference (Organizer-run)

Mitsubishi Chemical Engineering proposed new technologies for production facilities, including a smart factory that focuses on environmental friendliness, quality, profitability, and ease of work.

Hitachi exhibited equipment and systems that help realize next-generation smart factory with “total seamless solutions” that resolve issues for digitalization and green transformation strategies, operations management, and manufacturing sites.

Tsubaki Group presented several Tsubaki products that can solve various problems in the food machinery industry under the theme, “Don’t stop our food cycle! Shaping the future of the food industry with ‘mobilization’ technology.”

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries introduced solutions for decarbonization of existing infrastructure in food factories, warehouses, and logistics sites.

Ace System showcased a continuous steam rice cooking system using superheated steam.

Lion Hygiene presented their “Clean Vegetable SaO System” machine, which was a new addition to its unique ozone-based vegetable cleaning solutions. The company also showed their “Rich Foam GB,” a recently released cleaning agent for oil stains used to clean processing lines and equipment in factories.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation showcased solutions based on the concept of “strong support for food manufacturing sites with UV and AI solutions” in order to solve problems from 3 perspectives: “workplace hygiene solutions,” “production process hygiene improvement solutions,” and “on-site digitalization solutions.”