The inaugural Japan MICE Expo opened amid excitement in Osaka yesterday, as the city this week marks less than six months until it begins hosting World Expo 2025.
Organised by the Osaka Convention & Visitors Bureau, Osaka International Convention Center Corporation and Osaka International Business Promotion Center, the trade event will support Osaka and Kansai as the area prepares to welcome visitors to the World Expo from April 13 to October 13, 2025.
“Inquiries from MICE buyers who are interested in having events in Kansai next year, to coordinate with attending the Osaka Expo, are increasing, so we wanted to host this event now,” Hideki Tsutsui, secretary general of the organising committee, told TTGmice. “And of course, a MICE expo is good for business not only in the region, but also in Japan, so we made it a Japan-wide event.”
Japan MICE Expo is hosting 128 companies and organisations from across the country at 133 booths in Intex Osaka, which 4,000 visitors will attend over two days. Delegates will also have access to destination sessions, seminars featuring leading domestic and international speakers, and a networking evening.
Around 30 hosted buyers from Asia and Oceania will also be visiting Osaka, Shizuoka, Kurume (Fukuoka Prefecture), or Utsunomiya (Tochigi Prefecture) on a fam trip.
While the Expo will initially prioritise buyers from the region, Tsutsui explained that organisers plan to broaden its scope to include buyers from other regions, such as Europe, in the future. He added that the organising committee plans to hold the Japan MICE Expo as an annual event.
