From 11 to 15 March, ten European SMEs and Clusters from Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Austria, and Hungary visited Aichi Prefecture to participate in the Aichi Innovation Days and Smart Manufacturing Summit 2024 during the Digital Mission organized by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation.

The Smart Manufacturing Summit held its first edition in Japan this year in Aichi Prefecture. The summit, modeled after the Global Industry trade fair held in France, brought together professionals working in Industry 5.0, IoT technologies, AI, and robotics. 
The Digital Mission’s four-day programme started by attending the Aichi Innovation Days, organized by Aichi Prefecture and STATION Ai, an incubation facility in Japan that is scheduled to open in October 2024 and has the ambition to be the largest one in Japan. Over 50 startups and companies from Japan and abroad, along with prominent speakers, presented their innovative business models and initiatives based on cutting-edge technology. The EU-Japan Centre participated in the European Session together with the European Innovation Council (EIC), and all mission participants had the opportunity to pitch. 

The following three days involved a joint exhibition at the Smart Manufacturing Summit 2024. This provided the opportunity to connect with key players, and each company had their own display space with a poster translated into Japanese to appeal to the visitors of the exhibition. The Centre’s bilingual staff and three interpreters were present to further assist in the communication with Japanese visitors. One of the participants, SIMLab from Poland, created a Digital Twin of the Centre’s booth, which is still online for companies to gain an idea of the trade fair and the Centre’s joint booth.

The first edition of the Smart Manufacturing Summit recorded a total of 10,072 visitors and 246 exhibitors. The participants of the Digital Mission were satisfied with the overall organization and opportunities presented. The EU-Japan Centre organizes several annual business missions, and the next Digital Innovation Mission is scheduled for CEATEC Japan, organized alongside the Japan Mobility Show, with the application deadline for SMEs and Clusters on 30 June 2024. 

EU Ambassador to Japan Jean-Eric Paquet with the missions’ participants in front of the Centre’s booth - front middle