March 13 (Fri): DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa Signs Partnership Agreement with the Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau

DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa (Secretariat location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Yoshinori Inoue) signed a partnership agreement with the Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau (Location: Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture; Representative: Hiromichi Tanigawa) on March 13, 2026, aimed at improving international competitiveness in attracting MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions).

Through this agreement, the MICE city of Fukuoka and the Takanawa-Shinagawa area—a next-generation MICE hub located in close proximity to Haneda Airport—will collaborate to enhance Japan's international MICE competitiveness through content development, joint promotions between Tokyo and Fukuoka, MICE attraction efforts, and the cultivation of MICE talent.

"DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa" Official Website: https://dmo-gateway-takanawa-shinagawa.tokyo/

◾️ Background of the Agreement
The MICE market, including international conferences and exhibitions, offers high economic ripple effects and serves as a vital opportunity for business innovation, leading to intense global competition for hosting rights. However, Japan faces challenges in the global MICE market, as competition with Asian nations like Singapore and South Korea intensifies in terms of facilities, content, and promotion, making it difficult for individual regions to attract events on their own.

Fukuoka possesses a geographical advantage due to its proximity to Asia, well-equipped convention facilities, and a rich food culture and historical assets. It ranks 3rd in Japan for the number of international conferences held (2024 JNTO International Conference Statistics*1) and has built a strong track record as a MICE hub in Western Japan.

Meanwhile, the Takanawa-Shinagawa area will see the grand opening of the international exchange hub "TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY" in March 2026. It is a unique area that serves as a smart city featuring cutting-edge technology and demonstration experiments, such as autonomous driving, and is located very close to Haneda Airport. It also boasts a concentration of numerous contents that leverage the area's characteristics, including unique venues utilizing cultural assets, traditional culture, a diverse food culture, and nightlife.

We concluded this agreement based on the judgment that by mutually complementing the different strengths of both regions and actively co-developing multi-city tour-style MICE programs, we can contribute to maximizing Japan's appeal to MICE organizers.

*1 https://mice.jnto.go.jp/document/statistics.html Data Section 1: List of International Conferences by Domestic City

◾️ Partnership Agreement Items
This agreement aims to leverage the strengths of both parties to attract MICE events, strengthen mutual cooperation, and contribute to improving international competitiveness in MICE attraction.

Under the agreement, both parties will collaborate and cooperate on the following matters:
(1) Development of MICE-oriented content and joint promotions
(2) Attraction of MICE events
(3) Cultivation of next-generation MICE talent
(4) Other areas necessary to achieve the objectives of the preceding article

◾️ Comments from Both Parties
Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau
Secretary General: Keiko Igagami
Fukuoka City is characterized by the fact that approximately 90% of the city's workforce is engaged in the service industry. Because increasing the number of visitors directly leads to the revitalization of the city, we have been working on MICE early on. In hosting international conferences, we have promoted the attraction of events while collaborating and working alongside local universities and professors, resulting in our 3rd place ranking in Japan for the number of international conferences held in 2024.

When we received the proposal for this partnership agreement, I thought that since we share the commonality of being "areas close to airports," we could create something exciting. I would like to build a collaborative system where the strengths of both areas create a synergistic effect.

DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa
Chairman: Yoshinori Inoue
DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa is entering its 9th year as a voluntary organization. Leveraging the foundation of trust we have cultivated with our member companies, we intend to make this a year of execution to finally produce concrete results. In the MICE market, competition with Asian countries is intensifying, and collaboration between cities with different strengths is a key factor in enhancing Japan's MICE competitiveness.

Fukuoka has the potential of abundant MICE experience, excellent access to Asian countries, and a rich food culture.

With this partnership as our axis, we will delve into and further refine our respective cultures to create sophisticated content, and proceed with the creation of "city-tour style cultural experience content" that connects Tokyo and Fukuoka, as well as Tokyo and various regions across Japan.

By maximizing each other's strengths, we will work together to create an environment where people from all over the world will want to host MICE events in Japan.

[About the Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau]
The Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau is an organization that works to contribute to the revitalization of the local economy and the promotion of human exchange through the attraction and reception of tourists and MICE events to Fukuoka. Following Fukuoka City's selection by the Japan Tourism Agency as a "Global MICE Strategic City," the bureau reorganized its attraction department in April 2014 and launched "Meeting Place Fukuoka" to further strengthen its research and sales functions.

[Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau] https://www.welcome-fukuoka.or.jp/
[List of Press Releases from Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau] https://prtimes.jp/main/html/searchrlp/company_id/104588

[About DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa]
The Takanawa-Shinagawa area is a historic place said to have had post stations (umaya) since ancient times, flourishing as a gateway where people come and go. Takanawa Gateway Station opened in 2020, and Shinagawa Station serves as the closest hub station to Haneda Airport, guiding people arriving in Japan to various parts of the country. "DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa" promotes the development of unique venues that feature some of the largest ballrooms in Tokyo, suitable for international conferences and corporate events. We also offer proposals for food diversity—such as religious, ideological, and allergy-related needs—and after-MICE events. Utilizing the area's network, we help ensure the success of business events as a unified region.

[DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa] https://dmo-gateway-takanawa-shinagawa.tokyo/
[List of Press Releases from DMO GATEWAY Takanawa-Shinagawa] https://prtimes.jp/main/html/searchrlp/company_id/32856