Manchester hosts Japan Week 2025: Celebrating culture, connections and friendship

Greater Manchester has historic and significant connections to Japan which date back to the industrial revolution. From trading knowledge around textile manufacturing to the modern day, where our friendship is based on accelerating the use of low carbon technologies, strengthening trade links and building diplomatic ties.

Manchester had the honour of being the host city for the prestigious Japan Week Festival, organised by the International Friendship Foundation to celebrate Japanese traditions and culture across the world. Each year, Japan Week is held in a different world city and has previously been in Seville, Boston, Athens and Florence but this yer, marked the 50^th anniversary of the festival, making it an even more significant event for Manchester.

The annual festival aims to showcases traditional and contemporary Japanese culture on the world stage through arts, music, fashion and sports, and saw a wide variety of activities taking place at venues across the city including Aviva Studios, HOME, Manchester Museum, Manchester Central Library and First Street Square. This included events, workshops, exhibitions and interactive experiences, including traditional tea ceremonies and calligraphy.

We were also thrilled to welcome our friends from Osaka Government including Mayor Yokoyama as well as Japanese Ambassador to the UK Ambassador Suzuki, representatives from Osaka University and a number of Japanese businesses to help to build our special friendship. Our city wanted to make sure that Japan Week and the activity surrounding it marks the beginning of a new era of collaboration and opportunity between Manchester and Japan.

Here is an overview of the activity that took place between 3 and 9 September 2025.

On Wednesday 3 September, a delegation from Osaka took part in a walking tour of the city-centre to give them a taste of Manchester before joining an official welcome from Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and Leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Bev Craig.

During this welcome leaders from both Manchester and Osaka, gifts were exchanged as is Japanese tradition. Mayor Andy Burnham was given his own Takoyaki Machine to help him fulfil a promise made in his June visit to Osaka, to personally cook Mayor Yokoyama the famous Osaka delicacy.

Building Economic Bridges

On Thursday 4 September, MIDAS led a Business Seminar at Deloitte’s officed, hosted by Jo Ahmed Honorary Consul of Japan in Manchester. The event which brought together a number of officials and businesses from Osaka and leaders from Greater Manchester to celebrate the growing partnership between the two regions, reflect on the success of the Greater Manchester mission to Japan in June 2025, and discuss further plans to work together and drive opportunity for businesses and innovators on both sides of the globe.

The event featured two panel sessions. The first panel, focused on the special relationship between Greater Manchester and Japan, and in particular Osaka, reflecting on the success of the last mission. It discussed how the partnership can encourage growth and international trade opportunities in key sectors such as cyber, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and low carbon.

The panellists included Rachel Eyre, MIDAS’ Head of Inward Investment – Advanced Manufacturing and Low Carbon, Janine Smith, Director of GM Business Growth Hub, Takayoshi Negoro, Director of International Division, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mihoko Arai, Director for International Relations, Economic Strategy Bureau, City of Osaka and the session was moderated by Mike Blyth, British Consul General, Osaka.

A second panel discussed opportunities for trade, investment and collaboration, featuring speakers from Greater Manchester businesses Sealip and Hip Pop (who joined the mission to Japan in June this year) Hitachi Solutions and Panasonic, two Japanese companies who have been successfully collaborating with Greater Manchester in recent years.

A Tour of Manchester Metropolitan University

Later in the day, the Osaka Delegation visited The Manchester Metropolitan University to tour the Institute of Sport and the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, to learn more about two of our region’s leading research assets. The delegation learnt more about how our academics are using this research to support life science, sport and the decarbonisation of our city region; showing that there is room for greater international collaboration and knowledge exchange in these spaces.

Welcoming Greater Manchester’s startups

Then, Mayor Yokoyama and other officials from Osaka met with some of Greater Manchester’s most exciting start-ups in an event organised by GM Business Growth Hub. This roundtable aimed to build collaborative bridges with emerging businesses and key sectors; giving an overview of the diversity and collaborative nature of Greater Manchester’s startup ecosystem as well as the opportunities Osaka presents.

Then the delegation headed back to the Deloitte offices, for a special dinner hosted by Jo Ahmed, Honorary Consul of Japan in Manchester. This provided more opportunities for networking and to build on our special relationship.

Continuing diplomatic activity

The diplomatic activity continued on Friday 5 September as the president of Osaka Council met with Cllr Nicholas Peel Leader of Bolton Council and Cllr Abdul Jabbar MBE Deputy Leader of Oldham Council.

MIDAS also led a delegation of businesses to tour some of our region’s key business sites and research assets to learn more about our capabilities. Meanshile Mayor Yokoyama visited the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre at The University of Manchester University and Sister, Manchester’s newest innovation district and global hub.

BLOOM and the Japan Week opening ceremony

In the afternoon, the focus turned to culture with the UK’s first performance of BLOOM, Manchester’s gift to the city of Osaka which debuted at EXPO 2025 this year. The performance which was put together by creative producers From The Other was created to mark the relationship between the two cities and symbolise a past, present and future built on collaboration and shared prosperity. It was a collaborative effort from creatives Belladonis, Company Chameleon, AFRODEUTSCHE and musicians from the Halle Orchestra.

The performance of BLOOM was followed by a performance from OSK Nippon Revue Company, an Osaka based dance and theatre company to give a flavour of Japan Week to VIP Guests.

Then, it was time for the official opening ceremony of Japan Week, were officials gave speeches and engaged in tradition sake barrel ceremonies while watching various entertainers to set the stage of a week of celebrating Japanese culture and tradition.

A historic sister cities agreement

The delegation concluded the diplomatic elements of Japan Week on Friday, with a historic signing of a Sister Cities agreement between Greater Manchester and Osaka.  Sister City arrangements are highly regarded in Japan and the agreement with Greater Manchester is the first new partnership signed by Osaka in 20 years. It will build on our historic links with Osaka and will create new opportunities for trade and investment, innovation, education, tourism, culture and sports.

Mayor Andy Burnham and Mayor Yokoyama signed the Sister City Agreement in a ceremony attended by civic and business leaders including Japanese Ambassador to the UK, Hiroshi Suzuki.  The agreement aims to open up further opportunities for trade and investment, and foster closer ties in innovation, education, tourism, culture and sport.

Strengthening academic ties

The Manchester Metropolitan University also signed a Letter of Intent with Osaka Metropolitan University to deepen joint research in health, science, and technology, create new opportunities for student and staff exchanges and drive innovation-led collaborations that benefit both Greater Manchester and Osaka

To celebrate both signings, a VIP reception was hosted at the Midland Hotel where the Mayor of Greater Manchester did indeed cook Takoyaki and the Ambassador tried the first pint of Boddington’s bitter to be commercially available in the city in 13 years.

A world-leading cultural programme

Then it was time for Japan Week to take centre stage with its diverse cultural and traditional Japanese programme. From Samuari performances to Japanese musicians, traditional dance to tea ceremonies and workshops allowing the people of Manchester to experience Japanese pottery, calligraphy and trying on kimonos, the weekend was a colourful and vibrant celebration of a culture that is now intrinsically linked with Manchester.

Putting Japanese art at the heart of our city following the signing of such a historic agreement felt like a poignant celebration. As Sister Cities with Osaka, Manchester is ready to build even more relations and collaborations with the city and it was great for residents to be able to get a taste of this friendship.

Across the weekend The Halle hosted a special Japan Day to celebrate Japanese music with another performance of BLOOM. An exhibition by Esea Contemporary was also hosted with support from Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and The White Hotel in Manchester spotlighting Japan’s contemporary culture. A food market took place in St Anne’s square offering the public a taste of Japan, and HOME screened some special Japanese films.

On Monday a panel session around creative health and how Manchester and Japan are pioneering work to use cultural assets to improve wellbeing and reduce health inequalities also took place at Manchester Museum. Greater Manchester is championing creative health and is the first UK local authority to implement a Creative Health Strategy, pioneering change in this space, by sharing knowledge with Japanese counterparts it hopes to expand this mission.

Finally at Gorton Hub and Wythenshawe Forum, Japanese drummers and Samurai artists came to engage with local communities and spread the joy of Japan Week outside of Manchester City Centre.

In total, over 25,000 people engaged in Japanese Cultural Activities in Greater Manchester across the weekend.

Thanks to Japan Week’s Sponsors Calbee, First Street Real Estate, Kaji, Manchester Airport and Mizkan who made this all possible as well as organisers Manchester City Council and the International Friendship Foundation.

Thanks also to the BLOOM sponsors Panasonic, Daikin, SP Electricity North West, and Deloitte.