SusHi Tech Tokyo Turns Convention Hall Into A Massive Matchmaking Floor

SusHi Tech Tokyo, running April 27–29 at Tokyo Big Sight, is being billed less as a traditional conference and more as a global business marketplace — 60,000 people are expected, with 750 startup booths, 151 program sessions and delegates from 49 countries. Organizers say the signature feature is operational: roughly 10,000 business meetings are being arranged and confirmed before most attendees arrive, turning the event into a purpose-built venue for deals rather than a sequence of lectures.

The backbone of that shift is the event’s attendee platform, which functions like an introduction service rather than a simple schedule app. Participants create profiles outlining their aims, and an automated matching system suggests contacts, opens messaging and lets users reserve one of the expanded meeting rooms on the show floor. At the stands, swapping contact details via QR codes has replaced the paper-card shuffle. “When you remove the little roadblocks, collaborations happen faster,” said Maya Sato, an innovation consultant in Tokyo. She added that pre-scheduled meetings save companies time and make follow-up more likely.

Organizers have also flipped the usual script on pitching. In reverse-pitch sessions, municipal governments and corporations step up to outline concrete problems and invite startups to propose answers. This year Moreton Bay and Rome are among the cities running those sessions, while 62 corporate partners — from household names like Sony, Google and Microsoft to financial firms such as Mizuho — will host open-innovation booths aimed at recruiting collaborators. A dozen sector-focused zones, covering fields from logistics to life sciences to rail systems and climate tech, are showcasing co-creation opportunities rather than passive demos. TechCrunch will select one semifinalist to move on to the Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200, offering a pathway to a major North American stage.

International representation is substantial: 400 of the 750 exhibiting startups come from outside Japan, and city partners representing 25 countries and regions are bringing their own delegations with explicit mandates to link foreign founders to Japanese partners and capital. A new pavilion will spotlight 45 growth-stage Japanese companies supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as they seek overseas customers and investors. For outsiders who have hesitated to enter the Japanese market, organizers position SusHi Tech as a streamlined entry point — an exchanged contact at the show is meant to lead to a conversation, not a shoebox of forgotten cards.

For those who can’t travel, the event offers more than a livestream. Remote attendees can hire on-site staff to act as proxies, carrying a tablet that shows the remote participant’s face so they can speak with exhibitors and other attendees in real time. Sessions will also be available to ticket holders online, though some presentations may not be broadcast. “Remote presence changes the calculus for many investors and founders,” said Kenji Mori, head of a Tokyo-based VC advisory firm. “You can be two time zones away and still run effective meetings.”

SusHi Tech’s public day is scheduled for April 29 with free admission; the two prior days are organized as business-focused sessions. Organizers emphasize the event’s emphasis on practical outcomes: structured meetings, problem-led pitches and curated introductions designed to produce partnerships within the three-day run.