Greater Manchester Japan Mission 2025: day five
Friday 20 June marked the final day of the Greater Manchester mission to Japan 2025 after a brilliant week of building new relations and driving collaboration.
For the final day, the delegation returned to EXPO 2025 to once again put the city-region on the international stage and make sure all eyes were on Greater Manchester.
BLOOM public performance
This time, the Manchester delegation took over the Osaka Pavilion with a second performance of BLOOM – Greater Manchester’s gift to Japan – this time available for view by the public visiting EXPO 2025.
This performance was an opportunity to share the relationship between our regions on the global stage. As the only UK city-region that has created a dedicated cultural performance for Osaka, it was an opportunity to celebrate our friendship and show our commitment to further collaboration.
Mayor Andy Burnham and Mayor Yokoyama of Osaka introduced the performance with some special words about the strength of partnership between our two regions and how friendship and trust are such important values in an uncertain world.
Manchester confirmed as host city of Japan Week 2025
It was then announced by Cllr Bev Craig that Greater Manchester will host Japan Week, an international cultural festival, from 4-9 September 2025. The event will mark the 50th anniversary of Japan Week and will showcase the incredible 200- year friendship between Greater Manchester and Japan.
Japan Week will take place across several iconic cultural venues in the city centre, including HOME, First Street, Aviva Studios, Manchester Museum, and Central Library.
Hundreds of artists, performers, exhibitors and visitors will be travelling from across Japan- from Hokkaido in the north to Fukuoka in the south- to bring the traditions, creativity and spirit of Japan to Manchester.
During the announcement it was confirmed that Manchester will host a special Osaka Day during Japan Week, with Mayor Burnham committing to learning how to cook Takoyaki, a popular Japanese street food that originates from Osaka.
Working Together to Design Future Lives – Co-operatives Building a Better World
Over on the UK Pavilion, Cooperative UK hosted a roundtable to raise awareness of the unique contributions of the UK and Japanese co-operative movements, and how they can work together to achieve sustainable development goals in the UN year of the co-operative.
The roundtable aimed to identify opportunities for collaborative learning, joint ventures, and innovation in tech and community sustainability. It was devised in the hopes of garnering further support for co-operative-led solutions to global challenges. The discussion was led by Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK and Director of the International Co-operative Alliance, Toru Nakaya, Board Member of the Japanese Co-operative Alliance and Director of the International Co-operative Alliance, and Naomi Ichikawa, Senior Programme Officer and Project Director for the UN Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, as well as key members of the delegation including Mayor Burnham, Cllr Craig, Carolyn Davidson, and Mike Blyth.
The co-operative movement, which was founded in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, influenced the Japanese to start a movement that was also based on dignity, fairness, and democratic ownership. To this day, Japan has over 40,000 primary cooperatives, representing 1.1% of its legal entities.
As city-to-city diplomacy between Greater Manchester and Osaka grows, there are more opportunities to build on our industrial and social heritage. This roundtable provided the opportunity to emphasise the shared values between Greater Manchester and Japan’s co-operative movements, and invite joint innovation in digital platforms, sustainable food systems, and youth-led co-ops.
Culture takes centre stage
In the final event of the mission, the delegation visited Osaka City Hall to discuss how to facilitate further cultural exchange following a successful visit to EXPO 2025.
Inspired by BLOOM and plans for Japan Week, this roundtable was used to introduce cultural partners from both regions and encourage the commitment to long-standing cultural collaboration going forward as we embark on a new era of partnership.
In a landmark year of cultural exchange between the two regions, we have already proven that the arts can unite nations and forge deep connections between people and places. With Japan Week on the horizon, we’re looking forward to seeing how we can further deepen these cultural links with Japan.
And so concludes Greater Manchester’s mission to Japan for 2025. It’s been a hugely successful week, with the announcement of Mizkan investing a further £17m in Rochdale, Greater Manchester and Osaka working towards becoming sister cities, and an MOU signed between MIDAS and the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry as just a handful of highlights, with many more to follow in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Thank you to our key sponsors; Deloitte, Electricity North West, Panasonic, and Daikin for helping to make this landmark mission a reality.