The mission to Japan took place from 18 to 28 May 2025. Starting with a meeting with members of the Japanese government in Tokyo, the delegation then visited dozens of businesses and universities, joined matchmaking events with Japanese organisations and took part in the HTDX conference, organised as part of the World Expo in Osaka.
Royal visit added touch of grandeur
The digitalisation and high-tech mission coincided with the Dutch National Day (Wednesday 21 May), on which the Dutch pavilion welcomed King Willem-Alexander, minister Reinette Klever (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation), minister Dirk Beljaarts (Economic Affairs) and a large number of CEOs of leading Dutch companies. ‘That added a touch of grandeur to the mission,’ says Jeannine Peek, figurehead of Topsector ICT, CEO of Capgemini Nederland and member of VNO-NCW’s executive committee.
She describes the sleek look of the Dutch pavilion and its extensive use of 3D design elements. Another striking structure was the Grand Ring, a floating walkway surrounding the site and made entirely of wood. This will remain in place after the end of World Expo. ‘Osaka has gained a fantastic new landmark,’ says Peek.
The Dutch pavilion has been sold to a non-profit organisation. ‘Until then, it will continue to function as an attractive hub for Dutch participants and exhibitors from other countries,’ says Peek. The World Expo 2025 will run until 13 October 2025.
HTDX conference with four tracks
The HTDX conference, taking place on Thursday 22 May at Hilton Osaka, was another key part of the mission. The conference was divided into four tracks:
- two high-tech tracks (Semicon – Deeptech & Equipment and Quantum & Photonics – Deeptech & Applications),
- and two digitalisation tracks (Beyond 5G/6G and AI/Data).
Topsector ICT was closely involved in the digitalisation tracks. These were kicked off by a morning ‘high-level round table’, which was also attended by the Dutch king, minister Beljaarts, minister Klever and around 20 CEOs from the Dutch business community. Topsector ICT was represented by Jeannine Peek, director Frits Grotenhuis and Tijs Koops, programme manager for internationalisation and innovative SMEs. Read this article to hear Tijs’ thoughts in the run-up to the Japanese trade mission.
Keynote speech highlights importance of international collaboration
During the plenary opening session of the HTDX conference, Jeannine Peek – the figurehead of Topsector ICT – held a keynote speech highlighting the importance of Japanese-Dutch collaboration on digital technologies. ‘My speech focused on how digital innovation can help us to address our shared challenges, be that population decline, staff shortages, climate change or cybercrime,’ says Peek.
She says that these challenges call for bold, joint solutions in health care and digital skills development, robotics and AI, cybersecurity and data protection, NextGen communications and smart cities. Peek said, ‘I firmly believe that real innovation happens when different worlds come together. National collaboration is a great start – but to truly design a future society for our lives, international partnerships are essential. In a world where technology knows no borders, neither should our ambition – or our responsibility.’
Her keynote speech ended on a rallying call: ‘Let’s not wait for the future to happen to us Let’s shape it – together.’ The day’s agenda included a networking lunch and various deep-dive sessions. The HTDX conference attracted around 300 visitors, half from Japan and half from the Netherlands.
Many similarities
‘I was struck by the similarities between Japan and the Netherlands in terms of the issues we’re trying to address. Both countries are faced with the challenges of population decline, rising health care costs, persistent labour shortages and energy systems transformation. We’re also focusing on the same priority areas, such as semicon and AI,’ says Peek. She also noticed how the members of the Dutch delegation were eager to establish business collaborations, whereas the Japanese hosts were more focused on investment opportunities in the Netherlands. ‘They have a different perspective, but their approach to business is otherwise very much like ours, upholding the highest ethical standards.’
Leading examples of collaborations
Even at this early stage, Peek has identified a number of leading examples of Japanese-Dutch collaborations on digital innovation:
- Last year’s innovation mission, which brought together Dutch and Japanese experts to explore specific applications, such as:
- AI-driven image recognition to improve the speed and precision of diagnostics;
- Predictive preclinical AI models to tailor treatment to individual patient needs;
- Federated learning, using sensitive medical data to train AI models while respecting patient privacy.
‘Pilot projects are currently under development, and a follow-up mission on health care is planned later this year to transform collaborations into real-life innovations,’ explains Peek. - Collaborations on 6G technology. On 22 May 2025, the Japanese XG Mobile Promotion Forum (XMGF) and the Dutch Future Network Services programme signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This will constitute a basis for joint research and development of NextGen mobile technologies, with the aim of creating ultra-reliant, extremely fast and energy-efficient communication systems;
- Collaborations on Data Sharing and Digital Trust. The Netherlands is playing a leading role in the EU-Japan Digital Partnership, which seeks to foster interoperable data spaces.
- Collaboration on AgriTech: researchers at Wageningen University and the Japanese National Institute of Informatics are developing precision farming technologies via SURF’s ultra-fast NetherLight network. This enables teams in both countries to exchange vast amounts of agricultural and environmental data, supported by drone technology and robots.
‘This collaboration helps us to produce food more sustainably, striking the balance between higher yields and a lower environmental impact. It’s making a crucial contribution to food security and efforts to tackle climate change,’ says Peek.
Valuable connections
She describes the success of the numerous networking meetings, which established connections among and between Dutch businesses, researchers and public authorities and the participating Japanese organisations. ‘It was great to see almost all relevant stakeholders at the meetings. It was an opportunity for them to break out of their daily routine, join the conversation and seek connections.’
Find out more information about Topsector ICT’s international collaborations