ISM Japan shifts its inaugural edition to April 2023

ISM Japan has received overwhelming interests and excitement from the industry since the announcement of the Asian debut of ISM, and plans were on track to deliver one of the region’s first dedicated sweets and snacks trade fairs with an impact. However, due to the continuing uncertainties brought by the spread of the COVID-19 variant Omicron, Japan has closed its borders to all new foreign arrivals since November 2021, thereby posing a challenge for ISM Japan’s international stakeholders (visitors, exhibitors, and partners) to attend the trade fair.
After in-depth assessment on the situation in Japan and around the world, and close consultations with key stakeholders and partners, a decision was taken to shift its inaugural edition to April 2023, at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan. “As much as we would have loved to bring the event to life this April, we felt it was important to give the participants the full experience befitting for an inaugural event. Moreover, the ease of participation for our international exhibitors are paramount to make it a successful event,” explained Makoto Takagi, Managing Director of Koelnmesse Co., Ltd.
He added, “We were seeing business networking at its finest during the ISM Cologne. We are looking forward to bringing this network and spirit to Japan next year. With the recovery of the global economy and resumption to a new-normal, the team is committed to working on building a strong first edition of ISM Japan 2023 and offering exhibitors an attractive business platform.” The new show date of ISM Japan is from 12th to 14th April in 2023. The organisers are looking forward to delivering a successful inaugural edition in 2023.