SusHi Tech Tokyo is not a conference – it is a deal room of 60,000 people

There’s a version of a tech conference where you travel to an expensive venue, sit through the panels, collect business cards you’ll never follow up on, and go home. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is intentionally designed to be the opposite.

When 60,000 attendees attended Tokyo Big Sight from April 27-29, it was hard to ignore the headline numbers: 750 emerging exhibitors, 151 sessions, and city leaders from 49 countries. But the statistics that tell you what kind of event this actually is? It’s 10,000 business meetings facilitated – held, booked and tracked before most attendees arrive.

Infrastructure for making deals

The official SusHi Tech app is less an event guide and more a matchmaking engine. Before the conference opens, attendees register their profile and describe what they are looking for. The app’s AI displays recommendations, opens a direct messaging channel, and lets you pre-book one of the venue’s expanded meeting spaces. On Earth, exchanging business cards with a QR code replaces the fumbling moment for a card. It’s a small thing that points to a larger philosophy: removing friction between people who have to talk.

This deal-making spirit extends to startup competition. Isabel Johansen, Startup Battlefield Program Director at TechCrunch, will select an outstanding startup well-suited to the North American market from among the semifinalists to advance to the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200, a launching pad for one of the most prestigious stages in the industry.

Corporations promote startups, not the other way around

One of SusHi Tech’s most interesting structural options is the reverse pitch format. Instead of startups lining up to impress big companies, companies and city governments are taking to the stage to showcase their unsolved challenges and invite startups to propose solutions.

This year, Moreton Bay and Rome are both running reverse pitch sessions – essentially issuing public RFPs to a global startup audience. On the corporate side, 62 partner companies – including Sony, Google, Microsoft and Mizuho – are hosting exhibitions and sessions dedicated to open innovation, actively seeking collaborators. Twelve industry-specific groups including logistics, life sciences, railways and climate technology are also participating for the first time, with each looking to collaborate with startups rather than simply monitor them.

750 startups, 400 of which are international

Of the 750 exhibitors, 400 come from outside Japan – representing a true slice of the global startup ecosystem. City partners from 25 countries and regions bring their own groups with a clear mandate to connect startups with Japanese partners and capital. A new group of 45 “SusHi Tech Global Startups” – growth-stage Japanese companies backed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government – ​​make their world debut at a dedicated pavilion.

For founders and international investors who have been watching Japan from abroad, SusHi Tech is the most efficient entry point the market has ever offered. The business card you replace on April 27 doesn’t have to end up in a drawer.

Can’t get to Tokyo? You can still be there

Missing out on SusHi Tech Tokyo doesn’t necessarily mean missing out. Remote participants get more than just a live feed – on-site staff will walk the floor for you, holding a device that displays your face so you can interact with attendees and exhibitors in real-time, face-to-face. It’s the closest thing to actually existing.

Apply for remote participation with on-site staff support here.

Can’t you swing that too? Ticket holders can stream sessions online and take advantage of the programming wherever they are. Browse the full session lineup here.

Note: Some sessions may not be available for online streaming.

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 takes place from April 27-29 at Tokyo Big Sight. Business days are April 27-28; The public day (entry is free) is April 29. Register here.