The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is currently accepting applications to the call for…
The Biotech Business Mission in Japan, organised by the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, is centred around Asia’s largest Pharma & Biotech partnering event - BioJapan in Yokohama. Another partnering event, the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference in Osaka, will be organised one day before BioJapan in collaboration with the Osaka Prefectural Government. The same event will offer online sessions from 24-26 September 2025.
1. Schedule
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End of June |
Issuing of Partnering Accounts for the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference and sending link for submission of further information for the mission (company description, logo, etc.) |
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3 July |
Due date for payment of the 1000 EUR Deposit |
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4 July |
Online Mission Briefing |
9:00-10:00 CET via Zoom |
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Booking of flights and hotels |
to be booked by the participants themselves |
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17 July |
Deadline for submission of information for the mission preparation (company description, logo, etc.) |
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| July/August |
Issuing of BioJapan Partnering accounts, notification about booth number in BioJapan |
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| 14 August | Submission Deadline for Poster Data for translation (pptx, PDF with editable text, or PDF + text file) |
Posters will be translated into Japanese and printed by the EU-Japan Centre in Japan |
| 19 September | Online Pre-departure Briefing | 9:00-10:30 CEST via Zoom |
| 24-26 September |
Online Partnering, EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference daily from 9:00 am -12:00 |
Online on EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference |
| 5 October |
Recommended Arrival and Check-in at your Hotel in Osaka |
to be booked by participants themselves |
| 6 October |
EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference |
Onsite at Hotel Hankyu International |
| 7 October |
On-site visit in Osaka (by bus) Visiting Nakanoshima Qross a Future Medicine hub, that hosts CiRA Foundation, a provider of quality-assured iPS cells, and PMDA (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency). Furthermore, visiting |
Link to the Flyer about the site visit, with QR code for the meeting place in the morning We recommend to purchase lunchboxes at Shin-Osaka station before departure of the train. |
| 7 October | transfer from Shin-Osaka to Shin-Yokohama by Shinkansen "Nozomi" No. 386 (Departure: 13:39 from Shin-Osaka, Arrival 15:47 at Shin-Yokohama) Reservations are made for car no.12, rows 3-6 |
The ticket will be provided by the EU-Japan Centre during the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference. If additional tickets are needed for your colleagues, you can purchase them online or at major Japan Railway (JR) stations after arrival in Japan. |
| 7 October | Optional networking opportunities at the Global Life Science Session at the Nihonbashi Life Science HUB in Tokyo or check of the venue in Yokohama after Checkin to your hotel | Participants with an interest in the Global Life Science Session need to register to the event in advance. Changing the Shinkansen reservation and go through to Tokyo, the final station is recommended in this case. For participants who do not travel to Tokyo, we recommend visiting the venue and already getting the partnering pass on-site. |
| 7 October | Checkin to your hotel in Yokohama | to be booked by participants themselves |
| 8 October |
8:30-16:55 On-site Partnering |
Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center Exhibitor or Partnering pass needed for access to the Reception |
| 9 October |
8:30-16:55 On-site Partnering, |
Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center |
| 10 October |
8:30-16:55 On-site Partnering, |
Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center Friday afternoon at a Japanese fairs can be still very busy! |
2. Cost
The EU-Japan Centre covers all expenses related to partnering, exhibition booth fees, interpretation services at the booth and transfer from Osaka to Yokohama by Shinkansen on 7 October.
Flight costs, accommodation, and miscellaneous expenses related to your stay, such as lunch, dinner, and local transport, are not covered by the Centre.
Note: The cost provided are for participants that have been selected for the mission. Colleagues from the same company travel at their own cost. If, for any reason, the person, that represents the company on the mission, has to change, please contact us as early as possible.
3. Knowledge
The EU Business in Japan website provides several ressources such as reports or webinars on biotech and pharma related topics as well as on cross-cultural issues.
- Export to Japan 7: Technical Regulations - Pharmaceuticals (2020)
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Report: Latest trends in biotechnology research in Japan (2021)
4. Data to be submitted
We will send you an email with a personalised link to a form asking for the submission of additional data that will be needed for the preparation of the mission. This includes company descriptions, logo data, etc. Please submit the form at your earliest convenience and by 17 July at the latest.
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40-character Company description
This short description will be listed on your company/cluster name board which is going to be placed above your poster - 200-character Company description
This description will be translated and used in a simple brochure that will be prepared by the EU-Japan Centre to promote the Mission and to provide information to BioJapan visitors
- 380-character Company description
This description will be translated into Japanese and used to issue your BioJapan Partnering account
- Company logo data (for large prints)
On the fascia board of the Centre’s joint booth, we plan to print the logos of all organisations participating in the Mission. Therefore please send us vector graphics (.ai, svg or eps format) or high-resolution images of your organisation’s logo by 17 July at the latest. The logo will also be used for printed and online material prepared by the EU-Japan Centre.
4.1 Poster Data
A poster of your organisation is needed for the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference in Osaka and your display space in the joint booth at BioJapan. The poster can highlight your company’s brand, products, services or recent research findings. It should be vertically arranged in A1 size. Unless you already have a Japanese poster in the right format, we translate it for you from English to Japanese and print it locally in Japan. The number of words in the poster should not exceed 200.
To obtain a poster translated into Japanese, there are two options:
- If you do not have an English poster in a suitable format yet
Please submit an English poster to us as a ppt or pptx file in A1 format (You can download a template here or set the size yourself under Design >> Slide Size >> Custom Slide Size >> W594mm x H841mm). The Centre will translate and edit the text in the data and send a PDF back to you for confirmation. After you have checked the contents, we will print the file in Japan.
- If you already have an English Poster in Illustrator or other professional graphic design formats:
Send us the existing English poster either as a PDF with editable text or send a separate text file with the text it contains. After the translation of the text by the Centre, we return the Japanese text to you and you (or your graphic designer) place the Japanese text in the original poster file. You save the file as a PDF in A1 format (and send it back to us so that we can print it locally for you in Japan.
Please send either of the above data to us by 14 August at the latest either by email to EEN-mission@eu-japan.eu or by using a file-sharing service if its a heavy file.
5. Travel
5.1. Flight
The Mission will start in Osaka in the western 'Kansai' region and end in Yokohama in the eastern 'Kanto' region of Japan's main island Honshu. The below two flight options to Japan are the most suitable ones to be in Osaka for the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference on October 6 and Yokohama for BioJapan on 8-10 October. When booking flights, pay attention to the fact that many flights departing from Europe arrive in Japan the next day. Also due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the restrictions on Russian airspace, travel times to Japan are longer than usual.
+ a domestic flight from Tokyo to Osaka
Intercontinental flights to Osaka usually arrive at Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX) while domestic flights from Tokyo can arrive either at Osaka Kansai Airport or Itami Airport (ITM). Itami Airport is closer to the venue of the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference.
For flights to and from Tokyo, note that Tokyo Haneda (HND) is located significantly closer to the city, Tokyo Station (Shinkansen) and the venue of BioJapan in Yokohama, than Narita International Airport (NRT). Please account for at least 1 hour of additional travel time from Narita Airport. Due to the long distance, we also recommend not taking a taxi from or to the airport, but using public transport such as the Narita Express or the Airport Limousine Bus.
5.2 Access to EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference venue
From the Shin-Osaka Shinkansen station, it takes you only a few minutes by taxi to the events venue, the Hotel Hankyu International. Alternatively a two-stations-ride on the Metro Midosuji Subway Line brings you in 4 minutes to Nakatsu station, which is closest to the Hotel. Taking a local JR trains to Osaka Station also brings you to the Umeda district, where the Hotel is located.
Should you arrive at the Kansai Airport, you can take the Kansai-Airport Express “HARUKA” or Kansai-Airport Rapid Service or the Limousine Bus. Both will bring you to Osaka Station or, in the case of the Limousine Bus, directly to some of the major Hotels in around 1 hour. A taxi ride from the airport will cost you around 20,000 JPY.
From the Osaka Itami Airport, which is mostly catered by Japanese domestic flights, there are Limousine Bus connections as well.
6. Hotels
We recommend making bookings of hotels early. The hotel capacity in Osaka and Yokohama has become limited due to a high influx of tourists in the last years.
The venue for the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference will be the Hotel Hankyu International but you can also book a room in one of the many hotels surrounding the Hankyu Umeda Station such as Hotel Hankyu Respire, Hotel New Hankyu Osaka Annex, Hotel Viscio Osaka or Hotel Granvia Osaka. Please note that we cannot offer any hotel special rates. (Kita Area on Osaka Hotels List)
The venue for BioJapan is the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center.
There are several Hotels nearby such as the Yokohama Grand Intercontinental, Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu, Mitsui Garden Hotel Yokohama Minatomirai Premier, New Otani Inn Yokohama Premium, Washington Hotel Yokohama Sakuragicho and Navios Yokohama. (Minato Mirai 21/ Sakuragi-cho Area on Yokohama Hotels List)
7. EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference 2025
An outline of the event, agenda, and login to your profile can be found on the event's homepage. After receiving your login credentials for the event, please make sure to check and complete your personal profile and edit you organisation page from your dashboard. Also edit your availability for meetings and other attendance when needed. We also strongly recommend adding a marketplace opportunity to make for a quality entry.
Your colleagues can register for this platform free of charge, whether they will travel with you to Japan or only attend the online meeting sessions. Under "Organisation Details" in the registration, they join the same organisation profile by starting to type the organisation name and selecting from the results.
Online Partnering will be enabled between 24-26 September, 2025. The on-site event will take place on 6 October at the Hotel Hankyu International in Osaka from 10:00-20:00 including an evening reception.
All your meetings for online as well as onsite meetings need to be requested through the same Partnering Platform. Browse for companies or participants of your interest using the filters to refine your search results. You can choose to directly send a meeting request or to just send a message first. Please target your message to your potential meeting partner, and do not copy-paste the same message over and over again. The receiving side will have to accept your request and select a suitable time based on mutual availability. If your counterpart has registered as an on-site participant as well, suggest on-site sessions on October 7 for the meeting. For more details on how to use this partnering platform, please have a look at this page.
The Partnering sessions will take place from 10:30-12:30 and from 14:00-17:00. Each partnering session will take 25 min followed by a 5min break. A Luncheon session from 12:30-14:00, a seminar/panel discussion a Reception will complete the event. We will arrange posters for Mission participants to be displayed at the venue.
7.1. Site visit in Osaka in the morning of 7 October
We will visit Pharma-related sites in Osaka by bus. The site visit is mandatory for mission participants.
7.2. Transfer by Shinkansen from Osaka to Yokohama on 7 October
After the site visit in Osaka in the morning, the bus will bring us directly to Shin-Osaka station. From there we will travel to Yokohama by Shinkansen "Nozomi" No. 386 (Departure: 13:39 from Shin-Osaka, Arrival 15:47 at Shin-Yokohama, reservations are made for car no.12, rows 3-6) We will provide you with a ticket for the Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama at the EU-Japan Biotech & Pharma Partnering Conference registration. The Shinkansen ticket includes a seat reservation for the Shinkansen. If you wish to travel at a different time, you can change the reservation before the scheduled departure at major JR stations such as Osaka station, which is a 15-minute walk. walk from the venue of the Osaka Conference. Please note that the EU-Japan Centre provides only tickets for mission participants.
If you travel together with a colleague, you need to purchase additional tickets yourself. Although a bit complicated, it is possible to purchase tickets online in advance. Here is how. You may also purchase additional tickets shortly after your arrival in Japan.
8. Joint booth at BioJapan (Booth No. B-68)
The EU-Japan Centre will have a shared booth at BioJapan with a size of 54 sqm, where all participating companies/clusters are going to have a small space consisting of:
1) A company name board
2) A Poster in A1 size
3) A small display space to place brochures, business cards, etc.
4) A simple (non-locked) sliding door cabinet to place personal items.
5) A box for client’s business cards
In addition, there will be a small joint space with a few tables and chairs, a water server with cold and hot water tea, and instant coffee. Staff at the joint booth’s Information counter can take care of inquiries about your company should you be absent from the stand. Two Interpreters will be at the EU-Japan Centre booth. You can request their services in case you face serious language barriers at the venue.
For Meetings arranged through the BioJapan partnering system, please use the dedicated Partnering area and not the joint area at the booth whenever possible!
9. Partnering at BioJapan
In the second half of July, we will send you the login credentials for your BioJapan Partnering account. The account includes a pass with access to the BioJapan Partnering (dedicated Partnering Area and Partnering Party) for one person.
We kindly ask you to book your 1:1 meetings in the dedicated partnering area as we cannot accomodate simultaneous meetings at the EU-Japan Centre's booth. If you need to arrange meetings at the booth for which you need to sit down, please notify us in advance.
Should you need additional partnering access for your colleagues, please wait until we issue your initial account. Next, register your colleagues for partnering as visitors and inquire with the organiser at biojapan@jtbcom.co.jp to be grouped under the same company account as exhibitors. The cost for additional partnering accounts is 88,000JPY until 1 September.
After logging in to your account, please make sure to complete your Partnering profile.
The partnering profile includes: (*points in bold characters are compulsory for the partnering profile)
- Profile Picture
- Expertise / Specialty (Up to 100 characters)
- Link to your company’s Privacy Policy (Corporate's Handling of personal information URL)
- Year of foundation
- Legal Capital/Share capital/Capital stock/ Capital fund
- Number of employees
- Funding rounds/Securities offerings/Equity stage/
- Type of party you wish to meet*
- Information on your Products/Technologies you wish to discuss*
- (includes images, image captions, PDF files, video URLs etc. related category tags etc.)
- Availability (meeting calendar)*
- Special comments concerning your Products/Technologies (Up to 1200 characters)
- Other file uploads
If you want to create additional BioJapan accounts for your colleagues you can still do so for the early bird fee of 88,000 JPY (approx. 510 EUR) until September 2 on this page. (regular fee from 3 September is 121,000JPY!)
- Start with Visitor registration
- Continue with Partnering registration
- Pay the fee by credit card
- Contact the BioJapan Secretariat biojapanjtbcom.co.jp and request the additional account to be grouped with your initial account under the same company to share meeting schedules and status.
For detailed questions on the partnering see the FAQ on the above website or inquire with the BioJapan Secretariat.
10. Practical Information
10.1. Weather
Usually warmer than in most part of Europe during the same season.
10.2. Dress Code
The standard in Japanese business, especially for official meetings with clients, are dark-coloured suits such as navy, charcoal gray, or black for men. The suit usually goes along with a a light-coloured dress shirt and a tie. For women, neutral tones' skirt suits or pant suits are the norm. Skirts usually cover the knees, and blouses do not show cleavage.
At trade fairs or more casual business occasions, the style can be more relaxed but jeans or flashy colours or patterns are usually avoided. While in many Japanese companies, fitting in with the group is common, western visitors will usually be permitted more liberty in style.
10.3. Business Cards
Business cards are are still prevalent in Japanese business culture. Prepare to bring many of them with you as you will need one for every person you'll meet in a business conversation even at the Expo stand. Business cards are treated with great respect. They should not be pocketed right away or written on in the presence of your counterpart.
10.4. Electricity and Power Plugs
The voltage used throughout Japan is 100 volts, and there are two kinds of frequencies in use. Japan uses US-type 2-flat-pin plugs (see left side).
We recommend buying an adapter before your departure. The frequency in Eastern Japan (including Tokyo, Yokohama, Tohoku, and Hokkaido) is 50 Hz, and the one in Western Japan (including Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Shikoku, and Kyushu) is 60 Hz. This frequency difference affects only sensitive equipment.
10.5. How to move around
Public Transport Planner Apps
Google Maps works decently to search for transport connections.
Japan Travel by Navitime Japan provides some more details and has an app for iOS and Android
The Jorudan Japan Transit Planner is another service with an English page and apps for iOS and Android.
Transportation from and to Airports
Airports in Japan are usually well connected by public transport.
Kansai International Airport (KIX) is well connected to Osaka city by the Kansai-Airport Express “HARUKA”, Kansai-Airport Rapid Service or Limousine Bus.
Keikyu Line trains provide convenient access from Yokohama station to Haneda (HND) airport whil the Narita Express offers access from Yokohama station to Narita (NRT) airport without change. Both airports can also be reached by Limousine Busses from the Yokohama City Air Terminal (YCAT) in front of Yokohama station. (Some busses also operate directly from hotels in the Minato Mirai to Haneda Airport)
Transportation Payment Cards
Several IC cards that can be used as prepaid transportation tickets and E-Money are available in Japan.
Physical cards for tourists can be obtained at Narita and Haneda airport. Look out for Welcome Suica and Pasmo Passport.
In Osaka and the Kansai region, the equivalent is ICOCA. All these cards work on most public transport systems nationwide.
There are also App versions of these cards, which can be installed if your location is set to Japan (Settings > General > Language & Region)
One of the best explanations in English about the app exists for PASMO for iOS (ApplePay)
Taxis and other ride services
Due to regulation, Uber operates in Japan using taxi businesses. Rideshare is only in a test phase.
GO and S.Ride are the most common taxi Apps.
nearMe.Airport is a hybrid between a taxi and a bus. This service is available for airports such as Narita and Haneda in Tokyo, Kansai Airport in Osaka,
