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The light of Japan in Łódź

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HIKARI is a two-day meeting of Poland and Japan at Fabryka Grohmana: on day one the Polish-Japanese Business Summit on energy, infrastructure, technology and education, on day two a culture festival with a Japanese karate championship and workshops. The first edition took place on 12 and 13 June 2026.

HIKARI summit participants in front of a red wall with the HIKARI lettering and a cherry blossom motif

What HIKARI is

Japanese companies have invested more than PLN 2.1 billion in the Łódź SEZ. HIKARI gives these relations a stage: in business and in culture.

The summit opened with the announcement of a new postgraduate programme at the University of Łódź, created with Polish-Japanese cooperation in mind, and the signing of an agreement between Sojitz Kyushu and WindTAK in wind energy. Four panels, on energy, transport and ports, technology, and education and investment, featured representatives of the Ministry of Energy, PAIH, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Kajima, Takenaka, Daiwa House, JTI and SMBC. The day closed with networking sessions and a Business Mixer in English, and in the evening the jazz band Tubis Trio played.

On the second day Fabryka Grohmana hosted the JKA Poland Open Championship in Japanese karate with more than 200 competitors on two mats, and workshops in Japanese culture: dressing a kimono, tea brewing, calligraphy and origami, as well as kyudo demonstrations. The event was co-organised with Dragosfera and the II Secondary School in Łódź, held under the patronage of, among others, the Embassy of Japan, the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Infrastructure, and supported by JETRO, JOI, Shokokai, PAIH and JBIC.

The HIKARI summit stage in the Galanta hall during a panel discussion

HIKARI in numbers

first edition, June 2026

  • PLN 2.1 billioninvested by Japanese companies in the Zone
  • 2days: summit and festival
  • 4summit panels
  • 200+competitors in the karate championship

Gallery

The summit in the Galanta hall and the festival of Japanese culture at Fabryka Grohmana.

  • HIKARI summit participants in the conference hall
  • A HIKARI summit panel discussion on stage
  • HIKARI summit guests in conversation
  • The audience in rows of chairs, some wearing headsets, Łódź SEZ banners in the background
  • The HIKARI conference at Fabryka Grohmana

Want to take part in the next edition or become a partner? Write to us

HIKARI is prepared by the Zone's Marketing and Promotion Department together with partners from Poland and Japan.

Not sure who to call?

Call the helpline and we will connect you with the event team.

Zone helpline+48 42 208 06 00

Other Zone projects

HIKARI is one of our events for foreign investors. See also the Re_Enter series and other projects.

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