Success proves that the Japanese exhibition industry is back in business

The best way to help Japan through this disaster was to deliver a successful exhibition that would contribute to the revitalization of the economy.

Reed Exhibitions Japan has won acclaim from the Japanese exhibition industry, its customers and partners for opening the doors on its first major events since the devastating earthquake and Tsunami on March 11.

Finetech, FilmTech and Photonix filled 130,000 square feet of Tokyo Big Sight exhibition venue, with over 700 exhibitors, attracting 55,323 attendees – more than were expected.

“We were of course deeply concerned in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and Tsunami but it quickly became clear that Tokyo was relatively unaffected,” said Tad Ishizumi, president of Reed Exhibitions Japan. “We decided that the best way to help Japan through this disaster was to deliver a successful exhibition that would contribute to the revitalization of Japan’s economy and secure new business for all our customers. After a lengthy dialogue with the concerned parties, we set about encouraging our exhibitors back one at a time.”

Many exhibitors were satisfied with the turnout of the show.

“We considered cancelling, but we are happy that we decided to exhibit,” said Lin Chao, vice president of JINGBO OPTICS (China) “The Show Management invited high quality visitors, and we were amazed to have over 50 business meetings.”

For Fraunhofer (Germany) the decision to exhibit was fully vindicated.

“We didn’t anticipate so many visitors this year because of the disaster, but the attendance was much higher than we expected” said Wolfgang Schlaak, business development and project manager at Fraunhofer. “We have exhibited several times before, but this year was the best for us. We had business meetings with new customers, and expect to have around 10 orders.”

Many companies, such as TPK (Taiwan), attended the event to show their support.

“Although we were informed by Show Management that FINETECH JAPAN would be held as scheduled, we were doubtful they could organize an event in the face of so many difficulties,” said Tom Sun, TPK president. “We visited the exhibition because we also wanted to support Japan and our vendors, and I was amazed to see so many exhibitors and visitors. We were able to hold discussions with major companies like SONY, and will definitely visit again next year.”

“It has been difficult because the excessively negative news has made overseas exhibitors and visitors afraid to come to Japan” said Ishizumi. “However, we hope that the success of Finetech, FilmTech and Photonix will demonstrate to all that it is ‘business as usual’ in Tokyo.”

All future events organized by Reed Exhibitions Japan will be held as scheduled.