Event Name: SKS JAPAN 2024 -Global Foodtech Summit-
Dates: October 24 (Thursday) – 26 (Saturday), 2024
Venue: Muromachi Mitsui Hall & Conference (COREDO Muromachi Terrace)
Organizers: UnlocX Inc., The Spoon
Format: Hybrid (In-person and Online)
This summit, held as the Japanese version of the U.S.-based “Smart Kitchen Summit,” marks the 7th edition of Japan’s largest global food summit. Focusing on addressing social issues related to food, it aims to foster co-creation across countries and industries and form sustainable communities. A message from Norikazu Suzuki, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, was also shared. The summit featured sessions from innovators, roundtable discussions in dialogue format, exhibitions, and food experiences, providing ample opportunities for participant interactions.
As a platform for comprehensively understanding the challenges and opportunities related to food, the summit offered various sessions, ranging from smart kitchens to food tech, restaurants, agriculture, healthcare, marine, traditions and culture, technology, and the application of humanities. On the third day, a session titled “Digital Food Platform Concept by Institute of Science Tokyo” was set up, offering a unique perspective under the university’s name. The session featured Director Yoichi Oshima and Professor Eiichiro Kimura from the School of Environmental and Social Engineering, and the venue was nearly full.

At the session, examples from companies such as Panasonic’s AI refrigerator (which reduces food waste through interior visibility) and Sony’s “Roku-shoku” (digitalization and recreation of recipes) were introduced. Director General Oshima proposed the concept of “Open Innovation in Food Ecosystem” as part of the Digital Food Platform, focusing on data collaboration across value chains and creating new value through partnerships with industries such as healthcare and wellness. He emphasized that Institute of Science Tokyo’s provision of a platform would contribute to fostering innovation.
Additionally, Professor Kimura pointed out the lack of a shared understanding and strategy regarding Japan’s food and agriculture sectors, highlighting that strategy development based on a digital platform aligns with the goals of industry-academia-government collaboration. Finally, Director General Oshima discussed the importance of viewing challenges as opportunities and stressed that breakthrough ideas would come from thinking beyond existing territories (corporations and industries) and adopting a broader perspective.


Event Website:https://unlocx.tech/sksj2024/