Düsseldorf evening in Tokyo: A celebration of innovation and networking!

Düsseldorf evening in Tokyo: A celebration of innovation and networking!

International business is often not just about numbers, but above all about relationships and partnerships. On June 16, 2025, the traditional Düsseldorf evening took place at the “New Otani” hotel in Tokyo, which offered the opportunity to consolidate existing business contacts and acquire new business partners. The event was a top-class event with around 700 guests. Among the participants were the mayor of Düsseldorf, Dr. Stephan Keller, the State Secretary for North Rhine-Westphalia, Paul Höller, the German Ambassador Petra Sigmund and Minister Kiuchi from Japan. How Lokalklick.eu reported, the focus of the evening was on exchanging contacts and business ideas.

A special highlight of the event was the delivery of 800 liters of Altbier from the famous “Zum Schlüssel” brewery. In order to offer the local service staff a special experience, a crash course in barrel tapping was also offered. This festive setting underlined the goal of further deepening the connection between Düsseldorf and Tokyo.

Important visits and collaborations

The delegation trip, which also included a visit to Toshiba's headquarters in Tokyo, was particularly exciting. Toshiba moved its Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH headquarters from Neuss to Düsseldorf in 2021. In September 2023, the new Regenerative Innovation Center (RIC) was opened in Düsseldorf, which focuses on topics such as climate neutrality, circular economy and hydrogen technologies. Dr. Yutaka Sata, Toshiba's CTO, emphasizes the importance of the center for technological advances and their application in society. The regenerative innovation center will thus become a technology hub in Europe and could play a key role in the next generation of green technologies.

In addition, there is great interest in collaboration between Toshiba and Rheinbahn in the battery sector, particularly with regard to SCiB technology. This technology could revolutionize public transport in the region and soon develop appeal beyond the borders of Düsseldorf.

Innovative urban development and international cooperation

Another item on the delegation's agenda was the Haneda Innovation City, a pioneering urban district with a direct connection to Tokyo Haneda Airport. The urban developments there were compared with the EUREF campus in Düsseldorf, which focuses on climate-neutral technologies and intelligent mobility.

There was also discussion about AI-supported network automation. The delegation visited Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of Rakuten Group, which operates the first Open RAN-based mobile network in Japan. Rakuten Symphony has established itself as an important employer in Düsseldorf and works closely with European partners such as 1&1 to advance rollout developments.

To further deepen collaboration, future meetings and conferences, such as the Xponential 2026 cybersecurity conference, are being considered by Toshiba as a platform to showcase the latest technologies.

The economic delegation's journey continued in Chiba and Osaka and once again revealed how important the international connections are for Düsseldorf as a business location. The initiative by Toshiba and other partners demonstrates a clear commitment to innovation and sustainability that could be groundbreaking for the years to come.