Attendees gather at Tokyo Big Sight for the opening of the SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 exhibition, showcasing urban innovation and startup ecosystems.
TOKYO · May 1, 2026 : SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 has officially launched at Tokyo Big Sight, marking a pivotal moment in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s strategy to lead global urban innovation. The event features over 700 startups, 20 country pavilions, and 60 major corporations, positioning Tokyo as a primary exporter of solutions for the urban crises that the rest of the world will eventually face.
Exporting Urban Resilience
The conference serves as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s central mechanism for vetting and scaling technologies designed for the "Tokyo 2050" roadmap. By hosting a massive ecosystem of entrepreneurs and investors, the city is not just solving its own problems: it is commercializing resilience. Innovations on display range from autonomous disaster-response systems to sustainable energy grids, all framed as turnkey products for global megacities facing similar climate and demographic pressures.
The Infrastructure of Invention
With participants from dozens of nations, the summit focuses on the transition from speculative "smart city" concepts to pragmatic, scalable infrastructure. The presence of over 700 startups underscores a shift toward bottom-up invention rather than traditional top-down planning. For Tokyo, the event serves as a living laboratory, proving that the city’s survival depends on its ability to invent its own future in real-time. This year’s exhibition highlights how the integration of AI and robotics into the public fabric is moving from experimental pilot programs to permanent urban features.
