Manchester, Japan and Osaka: Building Economic Bridges

As Japan Week descends on Manchester to celebrate the unique and beautiful Japanese culture and traditions, there was also an opportunity to engage with businesses and leaders to further strengthen our region’s special relationship.

On September 4 2025, Greater Manchester welcomed a number of officials and businesses from Osaka for a day centred around creating new business and knowledge sharing opportunities that can drive success for both city regions. In expanding our collaborative efforts, the region is able to show the potential of what can be achieved when two leading city-regions work together to drive economic growth.

An international Business Seminar

The day began with a business seminar led by MIDAS which aimed to celebrate the strength of the relationship between two global business ecosystems, reflect on the success of the latest Greater Manchester mission to Japan and discuss further plans to work together and drive opportunity. The seminar was hosted at the stunning Deloitte offices by Jo Ahmed.

In her opening remarks, Jo Ahmed Honorary Consul to Japan in Manchester reflected on the strength of the partnership so far but acknowledged that now was the time for it to blossom.

Japanese Ambassador to the UK, Ambassador Suzuki praised the region’s net zero ambitions and expressed that current partnerships with Panasonic and Daikin can pave the way for further collaboration.

Ambassador Suzuki said “Today’s business seminar provides a valuable opportunity for Japanese and Mancunian companies. I hope it will be an oasis of ideas and will serve as a catalyst in expanding networks and bringing about new business opportunities in the months and years ahead”

In a keynote speech, Cllr Nick Peel Leader of Bolton Council reflected on the shared history of Manchester and Japan, as well as the strong Japanese business base that currently resides in Manchester. He praised Astemo’s recent investment in Bolton for creating jobs and supporting the regeneration of the town.

Mayor of Oska, Hideyuki Yokoyama also gave a keynote speech detailing the investment opportunities across Osaka and some of the exiting new developments and business opportunities taking place there.

On the relationship with Manchester Mayor Yokoyama said “I feel a wonderful energy emanating from Manchester and I can feel the spirit of Manchester”.

Reflecting on a successful mission

The first panel session focused on the special relationship between Greater Manchester and Japan, especially its relationship with Osaka and what that means for businesses in both regions. The panellists included Rachel Eyre, MIDAS Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, Janine Smith, 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.

The panel reflected on how this mission is a tangible way to encourage collaboration and investment across both regions; with the partnership laying solid foundations for further growth. They discussed the need for Manchester businesses to make the most of international trade opportunities and how working together we can help our shared sectors of cyber, life sciences and low carbon prosper.

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

The organisations credited the dynamism of Manchester, its talent pool and local government support for startups with creating an exciting and enticing place to do business. The two Japanese companies present Panasonic and Hitachi Solutions reflected on why their businesses chose to work with and invest in Manchester as part of growth ambitions. Greater Manchester-based businesses Sealip and Hip Pop discussed the challenges local organisations face in expanding overseas and how, collaboration between both Manchester and Osaka can open doors for them.

Reflecting on the recent trade mission to Japan, Ryan Mercer New Product Development Lead at Hip Pop said:
“The trade mission was vital in understanding how we can start to expand. The main challenge of scaling quickly is to ensure you can give the best quality and product to the international market, and the main worry for me was how we maintain that quality internationally especially in Osaka, which is known as the kitchen of Japan. Another challenge was the logistics of it and whether we import or make the product over there, but the meetings arranged as part of the mission really helped give those answers.  I went there with a huge amount of challenges in my head, and came back with a lot less because of how great the mission was and how great the people and businesses of Osaka were.”

Visiting leading research assets

Later in the day, the Osaka Delegation visited Manchester Metropolitan University to tour the Institute of Sport and the Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, to learn more about two of our region’s leading research assets.

On the visit, the Osaka delegation learned more about the innovative technologies that are fuelling our health initiatives and supporting leading sports stars by visiting the laboratories at the Institute of Sport. Then, they continued to share knowledge and learn more about Greater Manchester’s ambitious plans to become a UK leader in Hydrogen, looking at some of the Japanese technologies that are helping the region become a leader in this space.

Growing a startup ecosystem

Then, Mayor Yokoyama and other officials from Osaka met with Greater Manchester’s start-ups in an event organised by the GM Business Growth Hub. This event and roundtable aimed to build collaborative bridges with our emerging businesses and key sectors.

Finally, the delegation visited Deloitte’s offices for a dinner hosted by Jo Ahmed, Honorary Consul of Japan in Manchester, to help further cement friendship between our two cities and set the stage for a successful celebration of culture and partnership across Japan Week in Manchester.