SusHi Tech Tokyo is not a conference – it’s a 60,000 person performance room

There’s a type of tech conference where you fly somewhere expensive, sit down, collect business cards you’ll never keep track of, and fly home. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 it was deliberately designed to be different from that.

When 60,000 attendees descend on Tokyo Big Sight April 27-29, the headline numbers are hard to ignore: 750 exhibitors, 151 sessions, city leaders from 49 countries. But what number tells you what kind of event this is? With over 10,000 business meetings – rented, booked, and tracked before most people even land.

Commercial building

SusHi Tech’s official app is a low-cost directory and matchmaking engine. Before the meeting opens, the attendees register their profile and explain what they want. The software’s AI analyzes ideas, opens a direct channel, and allows you to pre-book one of the largest meeting spaces. Bottom line, the QR business card exchange replaces the traditional scan-on-card. It’s a small thing that reflects a larger philosophy: Eliminate conflict between people who should be talking.

This marketing strategy extends to the competition’s core. Program manager of TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, Isabelle Johannessen, has selected one startup that is suitable for the North American market from among the graduates to attend the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200, opening one of the most popular sessions in the market.

Businesses are rushing to startups – not the other way around

One of the interesting options of SusHi Tech is the reverse pitch model. Instead of just starting up to impress big companies, companies and city governments take part to present their unsolved problems and ask startups to provide solutions.

This year, Moreton Bay and Rome are both running revolutionary sessions – essentially issuing group RFPs to a global startup audience. On the corporate side, 62 partner companies – including Sony, Google, Microsoft, and Mizuho – are hosting exhibitions and dedicated sessions for Open Innovation, actively searching for partners. Twelve categories related to sectors, life sciences, railways, and climate technology are also exhibiting for the first time, each focusing on co-production and innovation rather than observation.

750 founders, 400 of them from other countries

Of the 750 exhibitors, 400 are from outside Japan – a true part of the global startup ecosystem. Partners in the city from 25 countries and regions bring their teams responsible for connecting with startups in Japan and their headquarters. A new group of 45 “SusHi Tech Global Startups” – Japanese companies growing with the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government – are making their international debut in the dedicated arena.

For international startups and investors who have been looking at Japan from abroad, SusHi Tech is the best entry point the market has ever offered. The business card you exchange on April 27th should not be in a drawer.

I can’t go to Tokyo? You can stay there

Missing SusHi Tech Tokyo doesn’t mean missing out. Remote attendees get more than just walking – venue staff will walk the floor for you, carrying a device that shows your face so you can interact with attendees and presenters in real-time, face-to-face. It’s the closest thing there is.

Sign up for remote participation and support from the site’s staff here.

Can’t you change that? Ticket holders can follow the sessions online and join the program from wherever they are. Browse the full episode list here.

Note: Some episodes may not be available for online viewing.

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 runs from April 27-29 at Tokyo Big Sight. Business days are April 27-28; Public Day (free admission) is April 29. Write here.