METAVERSE EXPO JAPAN 2022 took place at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo on July 27 and 28, 2022, and was organized by Meta.

This time the event was in invitation-only format for the media representatives and related parties, but it will be open to the public at CEATEC 2022, which is scheduled to take place at Makuhari Messe for four days starting from October 18, 2022.

The exhibition will feature products and services related to the metaverse, as well as a conference with invited experts.

In recent years, numerous companies have entered the metaverse business, and there has been no shortage of announcements of metaverse-related products and services such as virtual space platforms, VR and AR devices, 5G networks, and NFT and crypto assets.

Against this backdrop, various companies, organizations, and government agencies that drive the metaverse business will come together and work as one to communicate the present and future vision of the metaverse.

Organizers and sponsors are Meta, CyberMetaverse Productions, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., NTT Docomo, PwC Consulting, Softbank and Toppan Printing.

Supported by Mori Building and Nikkei Inc.

Alongside exhibitors were BNE Entertainment, CyberAgent Inc., HIKKY, The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Microsoft Japan, Rakuten Mobile, TV Tokyo and others.

20,000 Fireworks of the Minato Mirai Smart Festival.

On August 2 in Yokohama, the music and fireworks of Minato Mirai Smart Festival 2022 took place after 3 years of hiatus.

Venues of the event included Rinko Park, Cupnoodles Museum Park and Hammerhead.

One of the highlights was the performance by Tsuduki Taiko the drumming group active mainly in Yokohama, followed by the Sky Symphony presented by COLOWIDE as a final act.

On the day of the event, NTT East provided support for guidance and verification using congestion control tools and flow analysis data to help event operators understand the congestion situation in nearby areas.

Comic Market was held at Tokyo Big Sight from August 13 to 14 with this summer edition taking place for the first time after 3-year hiatus.

The total number of participants for this 100th edition was more than 170,000 people.

The maximum number of visitors per day was determined according to the Tokyo Big Sight’s guidelines and was relaxed from 55,000 (previous event) to 85,000 for this year.

Regarding the wearing of masks, it was announced that masks should be worn indoors but not required outdoor given the fact that social distance is being maintained.

Osaka’s first castle event, Osaka Castle Fest 2022 took place at the Knowledge Capital Congres Convention Center at Grand Front Osaka for three days from August 12 to 14. The event was organized by the executive committee of TVO and Congres.

Osaka Castle Fest was part of the 40th anniversary of TV Osaka celebration.

The decision to hold this event was made against the backdrop of a recent boom in visiting castles alongside a raising number of tourism campaigns and regional events.

Representatives of Kudoyama Sanada Museum, Nara University, Kyoto University of Advanced Science, Tenri University and Hanazono University were presenting on the seminar stage.

Visitors enjoyed valuable talks including the stage appearance of Shogo Imamura, author of the 166th Naoki Sanjugo Prize-winning book, “Saio no Tate”.

In the Osaka Castle Tower Special Exhibition, reproduction materials owned by the Osaka Castle Tower were displayed as well, including full-scale replicas of the demons from the reconstruction tower.

Tokyo Big Sight Ariake Exhibition Hall is set to open in spring 2023

Tokyo Big Sight Inc. announced the opening of the Ariake Exhibition Hall in spring 2023, as a post-use of the Ariake Gymnastics Stadium used for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The project is developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a part of the promotional program for the small and medium-sized businesses in Tokyo.

The facility is nicknamed Ariake GYM-EX. The name combines the name of the location (Ariake), the history of the facility as a gymnastics stadium (GYMnastics), and the fact that it is an exhibition hall (EXhibition)

SPORTEC 2022 was held at Tokyo Big Sight from July 27 to 29, 2022

Department of Commerce of Jiangsu Hosted The First Online 2022 RCEP International Digital Trade Expo

The administration of the Department of Commerce of Jiangsu held its first online international exhibition 2022 RCEP International Digital Trade Expo (operated by Jiangsu Lianya International Exhibition Co., Ltd.) from July 18 to 27 in the “online-to-offline (O2O)” format connecting online shopping and physical stores.

2,500 companies certified by Jiangsu Province for overseas trade qualities participated in the 10-day Online Expo and 90-day Online Business Meeting and Trade – the platform for business negotiations.

The exhibition area included the following categories:

– Lighting fixtures

– Hardware and building materials

– Automobile and motorcycle parts

– Textiles and apparel

– Large electric appliances

– Miscellaneous goods and gifts

– Medical care products

– Chemicals and agricultural chemicals

– Agricultural products

– Machine tools

The exhibition was held in conjunction with special business meetings, online promotions, online seminars and a number of other related events.