Ambassador of Japan to the Czech Republic, H. E. Kansuke Nagaoka, hosted a reception at his Prague residence for the partners and the team behind the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai. It was a thank-you to the people behind the largest showcase of Czech business and culture in Japan in decades – and behind a result that is already bringing concrete deals to many participating companies.
A reception at an Ambassador's residence is usually a protocolar event. This time, it was different.
On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, the Ambassador of Japan in the Czech Republic, H. E. Kansuke Nagaoka, welcomed to his Prague residence the partners and the team behind the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai – the people without whom Czech participation would not have turned out the way it did.
And it turned out remarkably well. Over the course of the World Expo, more than 100 Czech companies presented to over 1,500 Japanese business representatives. Together they held more than 50 business conferences and hundreds of B2B meetings.
The numbers that matter most, though, came after the EXPO closed. A survey organized by the Czech-Japan Hub among participating firms found that 29% have already signed a concrete deal, and another 52% are actively negotiating one. Four out of five companies are leaving Osaka with a tangible business result – not just a stack of business cards.
Besides, the Czech Pavilion introduced over 300 Czech artist, musicians, dancers and performers in 500 cultural events. These performances were attended by over 100,000 spectators. The Czech participation at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai therefore stands for the largest showcase of Czech culture and business in Japan for over half a century.
Those results belong to no single party. They belong to the Czech Government and all companies that invested their time and resources, and to the team that built the pavilion and ran it on the ground in Osaka for months. It was them Ambassador Nagaoka thanked.
One chapter has closed. But the contacts, relationships and partnerships formed along the way continue – and their value will keep surfacing for years. That is what business with Japan comes down to: it is measured not in quarters, but in relationships that last for decades.