Thanks to EU Business Hub @ Semicon Japan 2025, 50 European SMEs will visit Japan and kick-start their internationalisation path in the Digital Solutions sector. Participants will join Semicon Japan, a high-level trade fair bringing together the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain (the 2024 winter edition was visited by more than 103,000 participants).

This three-day exhibition from December 15-19, 2025, is an excellent opportunity to engage with Japanese business partners. Many Japanese corporations send delegations and have booths at the fair. At the EU Business Hub booth, customised services will be provided based on the materials from mission participants. A dedicated team of coaching staff and professional interpreters will help to promote mission participants’ products, technologies and assure maximum exposure with visitors of the exhibition. A networking event during the mission will increase the opportunities to connect with potential business partners and clients.

Target audience 

European SMEs and Japanese enterprises involved in the semiconductor sector, including components (e.g. connectors, pumps, cables, sensors, etc.), manufacturing equipment, inspection equipment, metal processing, cutting and plating, surface treatment.

Overview of the business mission

The business mission to Tokyo will last five days in total, including three days of dedicated business matchmaking, networking and a study tour.

The business mission agenda is as follows:

• Day 1: arrival in Tokyo, welcome and networking reception.
• Day 2: briefing session with sectoral experts and a study tour.
• Day 3: exhibition networking and B2B meetings @ Semicon Japan.
• Day 4: exhibition networking and B2B meetings @ Semicon Japan, networking reception.
• Day 5: exhibition networking and B2B meetings @ Semicon Japan, debriefing session.

Services/benefits the EU participants will be receiving

• Business matchmaking resulting in pre-arranged in-person meetings with carefully selected Japanese companies.
• Market intelligence including sectoral briefings providing valuable insights about the Japanese market and potential opportunities.
• Cultural and linguistic support such as briefings on doing business in Japan, and support for interpretation and translation.
• Financial support up to €1000 to benefit from a menu of additional customised services co-funded by the project (e.g. translation, printing, legal advice).
• Hotel accommodation (Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba) for four nights – in total, up to €1000 for accommodation are covered by the programme.
• Coverage of the exhibition fee @ Semicon Japan.

Key market insights

Participating in EU Business Hub @ Semicon Japan 2025 represents a unique opportunity for European SMEs because:

• Japan is Asia’s 2nd and the world’s 4th economy.¹
• EU exports to Japan in 2023 amounted to €64 billion in goods and €36.3 billion in services.²
• Japan represents the EU’s 7^th largest trading partner for goods and 2^nd Asian trading partner, after China.³
• Japan hosts prominent technology companies engaging in the semiconductor sector and in the production of manufacturing equipment. In fact, the Japanese semiconductor market amounted to about  €44.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to almost €45.6 billion by 2024.⁴
• The semiconductor industry is a priority of the Japanese government, which approved a €4.88 billion package for semiconductor investments.⁵
• The semiconductor industry is a priority of the Japanese government, which planned a €63 billion in support to boost the semiconductor and the country’s chip and artificial intelligence industries.⁶

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^1.The Top 25 Economies in the World

²Trade and Investment Relations / EU-Japan Policy Dialogues | EEAS

³EU trade relations with Japan

⁴Semiconductors in Japan – statistics and facts | Statista

⁵Japan prioritises semiconductor industry in bid to enhance economic security

⁶Japan to roll out $65bn in support for chips, AI – Nikkei Asia