JStories — SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, Asia’s largest global innovation conference hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, has opened its doors. Now in its fourth year, the event — built around the mission of “realizing Sustainable cities through High Technology” — is being held at its largest scale ever. Business Days run on April 27 and 28, followed by Public Day on April 29 (Wednesday, a national holiday), for a total of three days.
Special Keynote: Governor Koike and Prime Minister Takaichi Share the Stage — Hopes Pinned on Startups Driving Transformation and Growth
Governor Yuriko Koike of Tokyo and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on stage. Photo: SusHi Tech Tokyo
The most closely watched moment of opening day on April 27 was the session titled “Special Keynote — Expectations for Startups Driving Transformation and Growth.” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike took the stage, joined by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as a special guest. Under the theme of expectations placed on startups leading the next era of change, the two delivered powerful messages to the challengers shaping a new era. The shared appearance underscored — to both domestic and international participants — that the national government and Tokyo are aligned in their startup policy direction.
PM Takaichi opened by welcoming the more than 60,000 participants who had gathered in Tokyo, drawn by the conference’s vision of realizing sustainable cities through high technology. She then highlighted the broader economic significance of the sector: “GDP generated by startups now accounts for four percent of Japan’s nominal GDP, and it has grown by 32 percent over the past two years — a substantial impact on economic growth.”
Governor Koike, for her part, reaffirmed Tokyo’s startup policy known as the “10×10×10 Innovation Vision” — a commitment to grow the number of startups, unicorns, and public-private collaboration projects tenfold each. As new measures toward that goal, she announced the launch of “SusHi Tech Global,” a program providing concentrated support for promising growth-stage startups, and an accompanying grant program, “SusHi Tech Global Grants.” She also reiterated the city’s plan to create a $1 billion investment flow for startups through public-private partnerships by next fiscal year, declaring her resolve to develop Tokyo into a gateway to the global innovation ecosystem.
Voices from Overseas Participants — Tokyo as the “Entry Point to the Japanese Market”
source:SusHi Tech Tokyo
Across the venue, exhibitors from around the world shared their expectations for entering the Japanese market and their assessment of SusHi Tech Tokyo as a conference in its own right.
Vivian Jones, Chief Revenue Officer of Colombia-based fintech company MonaBit, chose Tokyo as the launchpad for the company’s next chapter — Asia — after building a foundation in the Americas and Europe.
“Japan has the strongest financial services industry in the Asia-Pacific region, and it’s our starting point for Asia. What surprised me is that everyone in Japan already uses digital payments fluently. Other countries are still cash-heavy, but for us, Japan is a market we can integrate into very naturally,” she said. By the end of day one alone, she had spoken with more than 20 investors and described the response as encouraging.
For Vittorio D’Alfonso, a full-stack engineer at Italian distributed-energy company Koala, this was his first visit to Japan. He sees Koala’s model — enabling local communities to generate, share, and manage renewable energy — as one that can travel to Japan. “People in Japan are very reliable. It’s easy to start a conversation, and it’s easy to understand what we can build together,” he said.
Enda Peoples, Director of Business Development at Druid, an Irish private cellular core network technology company, offered a perspective shaped by repeat attendance: “Reaching Japanese partners and investors from abroad — especially in more traditional sectors — isn’t always easy. But events like SusHi Tech have played a decisive role in breaking down those walls. This isn’t my first year here, and what I’ve found is that continued participation builds genuine familiarity, fosters real relationships, and creates meaningful opportunities for collaboration.”
Taken together, these voices suggest that Tokyo is beginning to function as a true gateway to the global innovation ecosystem in Asia — and that SusHi Tech Tokyo is maturing into far more than an exhibition. It is becoming, in practical terms, a place for cross-border dialogue and collaboration.
Record-Breaking Scale — 770 Startups, 60 Countries, 10,000 Business Meetings Expected
Photo: SusHi Tech Tokyo
By the numbers, this year’s SusHi Tech Tokyo marks a milestone. Exhibiting startups have grown 27 percent year on year to 770 (390 international, 380 domestic), with participants drawn from 60 countries and regions. The “SusHi Tech Challenge” pitch contest received 820 applications from 60 countries and regions, with 18 semifinalists selected.
Total attendance, including online, is projected at 60,000, with around 10,000 business meetings expected on the show floor. Corporate Partners have grown to 68 (up from 47 last year), and City Partners to 22 pavilions representing 25 countries, regions, and cities. A record 48 Japanese local governments are exhibiting, alongside 40 media partners — also a new high.
Notable New Developments — SusHi Tech Global and Open Innovation
A major new highlight this year is the debut pavilion of “SusHi Tech Global Startups,” a group of 45 growth-stage companies given priority support by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Aiming for global scale-up, these startups will hold pitch events alongside their exhibitions.
The Open Innovation Area, designed to spark co-creation between large enterprises and startups, has also been significantly expanded. The 68 Corporate Partners are exhibiting jointly with their startup collaborators. In addition, twelve newly participating innovation clusters under “TIB CATAPULT” — covering city tech, agritech and food tech, space, life sciences, entertainment, and more — are showcasing cross-sector business creation initiatives.
Public Day on April 29 — Where the Next Generation and Citizens Take Part
Photo: SusHi Tech Tokyo
The third day, April 29 (Wednesday, a national holiday), is Public Day — designed as a free admission day for Tokyo residents and the wider public to experience cutting-edge technology firsthand. The lineup includes interactive sessions with robots, VR disaster preparedness experiences, photo opportunities with monuments built by 3D printers for housing construction, and a session with QuizKnock’s Takushi Izawa exploring “a sustainable future” through quizzes — programming that spans children to adults. The “ITAMAE” student volunteer team, comprising more than 400 members, supports the entire venue with reception, guidance, and pitch operations, making the event itself a training ground for the next generation of innovators.
Public Day will also feature “SusHi Tech Teen Challenge 2026,” in which middle and high school students selected from across Japan compete with their ideas. Young proposals for solving the urban challenges of the future will be on display before international and domestic visitors alike.
Across three days at Tokyo Big Sight, SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is expected to further cement its position as Asia’s largest global innovation conference — and, with its expanded scale and content, to serve as the launchpad for the actions startups will take to address the world’s challenges.
Article: Randy Wagenheim Edited by: Takanori Isshiki Top photo: JStories (Moritz Brinkhoff)
