About Us
Background to the Establishment
European Capital of Culture Antwerp 1993 was the occasion for a request by the government of Belgium for Japanese participation in the events of that year, and EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee was formed with the support of prominent members of the business community and EU member country ambassadors to Japan.
| Founded | November 1992 |
|---|---|
| Objectives | To support the transnational activities of community members and artists involved in service of regional communities and social responsibility and to contribute to the development of healthy societies. |
Fundamental Activities Policy
- Support the activities of young people with attention to their talents and personal qualities.
- Support activities directed towards the self-reliance of community citizens and artists.
- Recognize the standing of and support artistic activities on which opinion remains unformed.
- Support artistically and spiritually creative activities while continuously examining the merits and demerits of globalization.
- Support the formation of global networks in culture and the arts and joint efforts undertaken in their context.
- Support activities that preserve traditional culture, as well as activities that extend it.
Committee Membership
EU-Japan Fest General Committee Meeting on Mar. 2025
| Member (Chairman of 33rd EU-Japan Fest) |
Makoto TAKASHIMA (Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.) |
|---|---|
| Member (Chairman of 32nd EU-Japan Fest) |
Toshiaki HIGASHIHARA (Executive Chairman of Hitachi, Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 31st EU-Japan Fest) |
Yasuhiro SATO (Senior Advisor of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.) |
| Member (Chairman of 30th EU-Japan Fest) |
Nobuyuki HIRANO (Senior Advisor of MUFG Bank, Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 29th EU-Japan Fest) |
Shuzo SUMI (Senior Executive Advisor of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 28th EU-Japan Fest) |
Takeshi KUNIBE (Special Advisor of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.) |
| Member (Chairman of 27th EU-Japan Fest) |
Masakazu TOKURA (Senior Advisor of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 26th EU-Japan Fest) |
Masami IIJIMA (Counselor of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 25th EU-Japan Fest) |
Nobuyuki KOGA (Honorary Advisor of Nomura Holdings, Inc.) |
| Member (Chairman of 24th EU-Japan Fest) |
Takeshi UCHIYAMADA (Senior Advisor of Toyota Motor Corporation) |
| Member (Chairman of 23rd EU-Japan Fest) |
Hideaki OMIYA (Honorary Adviser of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 22nd EU-Japan Fest) |
Masayuki OKU (Honorary Advisor of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, INC.) |
| Member (Chairman of 19th EU-Japan Fest) |
Sadayuki SAKAKIBARA (Former Chairman of Toray Industries, Inc.) |
| Member (Chairman of 18th EU-Japan Fest) |
Hiromichi IWASA (Senior Executive Advisor of Mitsui Fudosan Co.,Ltd. ) |
| Member (Chairman of 17th EU-Japan Fest) |
Kazuo TSUKUDA (Former Chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.) |
| Member (Chairman of 16th EU-Japan Fest) |
Yoji OHASHI (Senior Executive Adviser of the Board of ANA Holdings Inc.) |
| Member (Chairman of 9th EU-Japan Fest) |
Yuzaburo MOGI (Honorary CEO and Chairman of Kikkoman Corporation) |
| Member | Noriyuki INOUE (Chairman Emeritus of Daikin Industries, Ltd.) |
| Member | Shingo KANEKO (Chairman & Representative Director of TOPPAN Holdings Inc.) |
| Member | Tetsuro TOYODA (Senior Executive Adviser of Toyota Industries Corporation) |
| Member | Yoshikazu OSHIMI (Chairman of Kajima Corporation) |
| Member | Drazen HRASTIC (Ambassador of Croatia) |
| Member | Anna AULNER-BÁLINT (Ambassador of Hungary) |
| Member | Pawel MILEWSKI (Ambassador of Poland) |
| Member | Andre SPITERI (Ambassador of Malta) |
| Member | Marieta Petrova ARABADJIEVA de Descalzi (Ambassador of Bulgaria) |
| Member | Aleksandra KOVAČ (Ambassador of Serbia) |
| Member | Aurelijus ZYKAS (Ambassador of Lithuania) |
| Member | Philippe SETTON (Ambassador of France) |
| Member | Damien COLE (Ambassador of Ireland) |
| Member | Zigmārs ZILGALVIS (Ambassador of Latvia) |
| Member | Jurij RIFELJ (Ambassador of Slovenia) |
| Member | Martin KLUČAR (Ambassador of Czech Republic) |
| Member | Kristin IGLUM (Ambassador of Norway) |
| Member | Ivan SURKOS (Ambassador of Slovakia) |
| Member | Tanja JÄÄSKELÄINEN（Ambassador of Finland） |
| Member | Gianluigi BENEDETTI (Ambassador of Italy) |
| Member | Ovidiu RAEŢCHI (Ambassador of Romania) |
| Member | Petra SIGMUND (Ambassador of Germany) |
| Member | Gilberto JERÓNIMO (Ambassador of Portugal) |
| Auditor | Bernard CATRYSSE (Former director of Arts Flanders Japan) |
| Auditor | Hirokazu YASUKAWA（Tax Accountant） |
| Secretary General | Shuji KOGI |
Successive Chairmen / Chairmen of Operating Committee
Chairman
| 1994 – Nov. 2007 | Tadahiro SEKIMOTO(Chairman of NEC) |
|---|---|
| 1992 – 1993 | Seiya MATSUMOTO(President of Pioneer, President of The Japan-Belgium Society) |
Chairman of Operating Committee
*This system has started since 1995.
| Year | European Capital of Culture | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2025(33rd) | Chemnitz, Germany Nova Gorica – Gorizia, Slovenia/Italy |
Makoto TAKASHIMA (Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) |
| 2024(32nd) | Tartu, Estonia Bad Ischl-Salzkammergut, Austria Bodø, Norway |
Toshiaki HIGASHIHARA (Exclusive Chairman of Hitachi) |
| 2023(31st) | Veszprem-Balaton, Hungary | Yasuhiro SATO (Senior Advisor of Mizuho Financial Group) |
| 2022(30th) | Kaunas, Lithuania Esch, Luxembourg |
Nobuyuki HIRANO (Senior Advisor of MUFG Bank) |
| 2021(29th) | Novi Sad, Serbia Timișoara, Romania Eleusis, Greece |
Shuzo SUMI (Senior Executive Advisor of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance) |
| 2020(28th) | Galway, Ireland Rijeka, Croatia |
Takeshi KUNIBE (Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) |
| 2019(27th) | Matera, Italy Provdiv, Burgaria |
Masakazu TOKURA (Chairman of Sumitomo Chemical) |
| 2018(26th) | Valletta, Malta Leeuwarden, the Netherlands |
Masami IIJIMA (Chairman of Mitsui & Co.) |
| 2017(25th) | Aarhus, Denmark Pafos, Cyprus |
Nobuyuki KOGA (Chairman of Nomura Holdings) |
| 2016(24th) | Wroclaw, Poland San Sebastian, Spain |
Takeshi UCHIYAMADA (Chairman of Toyota Motor) |
| 2015(23rd) | Plzen, Czech Republic Mons, Belgium |
Hideaki OMIYA (Honorary Adviser of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) |
| 2014(22nd) | Riga, Latvia Umeå, Sweden |
Masayuki OKU (Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) |
| 2013(21st) | Košice, Slovakia Marseille-Provence, France |
Yorihiko KOJIMA (Chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation) |
| 2012(20th) | Guimarães, Portugal Slovenia, Maribor |
Takashi KAWAMURA (Chairman of Hitachi) |
| 2011(19th) | Turku, Finland Tallinn, Estonia |
Sadayuki SAKAKIBARA (Chairman of Toray Industries) |
| 2010(18th) | Pecs, Hungary Istanbul, Turkey |
Hiromichi IWASA (President of Mitsui Fudosan) |
| 2009(17th) | Vilnius, Lithuania Linz, Austria |
Kazuo TSUKUDA (Chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) |
| 2008(16th) | Liverpool, U.K. Stavanger, Norway |
Yoji OHASHI (Chairman of All Nippon Airways) |
| 2007(15th) | Sibiu, Romania Luxembourg |
Fumiaki WATARI (Chairman of Nippon Oil) |
| 2006(14th) | Patras, Greece | Takao KUSAKARI (Chairman of NYK Line) |
| 2005(13rd) | Cork, Ireland | Kunio TAKEDA (Chairman of Takeda Pharmaceutical) |
| 2004(12nd) | Lille, France Genova, Italy |
Fujio CHO (President of Toyota Motor) |
| 2003(11st) | Graz, Austria | Masatoshi KISHIMOTO (Chairman of Olympus) |
| 2002(10th) | Brugge, Belgium Salamance, Spain |
Kaneo ITO (President of Pioneer) |
| 2001(9th) | Porto, Portugal Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
Yuzaburo MOGI (President of Kikkoman) |
| 2000(8th) | Avignon, France Brussels, Belgium Santiago de Compostela, Spain |
Yoshiharu FUKUHARA (Chairman of Shiseido) |
| 1999(7th) | Weimar, Germany | Tadahiro SEKIMOTO (Adviser of NEC) |
| 1998(6th) | Stockholm, Sweden | Yotaro KOBAYASHI (Chairman of Fuji Xerox) |
| 1997(5th) | Thessaloniki, Greece | Yoshitoki CHINO (Honorary Chairman of Daiwa Securities) |
| 1996(4th) | Copenhagen, Denmark | Eiji TOYODA (Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor) |
| 1995(3rd) | Luxembourg | Yoh KUROSAWA (President of the Industrial Bank of Japan) |
（Post at time of assumption）
