Shelly Liu／Jasmin Zhuang
As a member of the world's leading exhibition organiser–Reed Exhibitions, Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd. has since 2003 been the largest trade show organiser in Japan. Through continually striving to create trade exhibitions that generate business for the exhibitors and visitors alike, the company has organised many successful international exhibitions. They are fully committed to promoting the trade between Japan and the world. The Director General of Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd, Kenji Okabe, accepted the interview with GTI.

Director General, Kenji Okabe (right).

Q: Could you please give us a brief introduction of this year's Events & Amusement Expo Tokyo (E&A)?
A: In addition to the other 3 expos, the scale of this year’s expo is larger than that of last year, with an increase of 100 exhibitors. The number of exhibitors at E&A alone has also increased.

Q: As far as we know, the "Entertainment World" zone of E&A is newly added, which is mainly for operators from leisure and entertainment facilities as well as theme parks. What is the original intention to add this zone?
A: Actually, although this zone doesn’t exist until this year, many of the professional buyers who came to visit this expo were practitioners of amusement parks, water parks and so on. They expressed their opinions to the organizers that they wanted to see more amusement-related exhibitors and products. So it was at their request that we added this new "Entertainment World" zone.

Q: The exhibitors of E&A are mainly local Japanese companies. Do you have anything to say to those overseas companies that are interested in entering the Japanese market?
A: For the Japanese entertainment companies attending E&A, they are in particular need of some new technologies that are not available in Japan now. Moreover, the entertainment industry in Japan is relatively open. We especially expect overseas companies to invest new products and technologies in Japan.

Q: There are three other expos held at the same time with E&A, covering the fields of performing arts, sports and economic development, etc. Will they be different in terms of audience demands? What kind of comprehensive benefit will it generate under the situation that several expos simultaneously happened in the same exhibition hall?
A: The reasons that we hold these four expos together can be included as: Firstly, some exhibitors of E&A have cooperation with some enterprises from other expos. Secondly, exhibitors of other expos, whether holding small performances or large events, also need the technologies and products support from exhibitors of E&A. Therefore, these four expos are closely related and complement each other.

Q: We have learned that the Integrated Resort (IR) law has been passed in Japan allowing the establishment of new resorts (including sightseeing casinos) in designated areas, which should have an impact on the related industries such as theme parks, amusement parks, hotels and resorts. So what kind of influence or stimulation will this open policy bring to your exhibition plan?
A: We are very much looking forward to the implementation of the IR law. Its implementation is an especially great business opportunity for us. There are very few exhibition venues in Japan and the pavilion area is also very small. The largest exhibition hall in Tokyo is only 80,000 square meters, which makes us very envious of the scale of Chinese exhibition halls. It is difficult to organize an expo in Japan now because of the venue problem. We want to organize a large-scale expo, but the venue is really limited. However, if Japan's IR law is fully implemented and the Japanese government does not take any initiatives to invest resources to expand the exhibition venue, it will be a great pity for us, which is really a big business opportunity.

Q: Japan's IR law includes a little gambling nature. Will it be possible that your company organizes such a professional expo?
A: Of course, we focus on all industries, so there is no professional expo that we can't hold. As long as it is reasonable and legal, we will organize it.

Q: What is the key factor that leads you to decide to organize a certain kind of expo?
A: We mainly consider that whether this expo is good or bad for the industry, because the purpose of expo is to serve the industry.

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No.188 in July 2020