2020.06.01
[Notice of changes] The 5th organicLifestyle EXPO/The 1st SDGs Lifestyle Forum 2020
In Japan the number of people affected by the coronavirus is decreasing. But since it is difficult to predict the further development, we have decided to postpone this year's 5th Organic Lifestyle EXPO / 1st SDGs Lifestyle Forum 2020 by one month.
2019.09.15
The 4th Organic Lifestyle EXPO 2019/OLE was held successfully in Shinjuku.
The 4th “Organic Lifestyle EXPO” held on August 2（Fri）and 3（Sat）, 2019 was held at Shinjuku NS Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Due to the location of the venue, the occupied space has shrunk from last year, but a wide range of exhibitors gathered from fresh vegetables to traditional processed foods such as miso and soy sauce, beverages, natural/organiccosmetics, organic cotton products, and household goods were displayed.
2019.06.18
5th Organic Lifestyle EXPO in 2020, with more space at Hamamatsucho Industrial & Trade Center
The Organic Lifestyle EXPO, which started in 2016, will be held for the fifth time in 2020 after the Tokyo Olympics at the fully renewed Trade Center halls.OLE is the opening event and will be held September for 3 days from 17 (Thu.) to 19 (Sat.) September.
2019.05.31
4th Organic Lifestyle EXPO in Shinjuku on August 2nd (Fri) and 3rd (Saturday)
The 4th Organic Lifestyle EXPO, organized by the Japan Organic Forum Japan, promotes the “Organic 3.0” advocated by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements), a leader in global organic agriculture, as the main theme.
2018.10.01
Organic Lifestyle EXPO 2018 closed successfully.
The third OLE held on 22 and 23 September 2018 was very successful with more exhibitors and many visitors on both days. In addition to a large variety of Japanese products, many imported products – food, beverages, natural cosmetics etc. – were exhibited. OLE is now on the way to become the leading trade fair in Japan for natural and organic products.
2017.08.31
More than 200 exhibitors and over 20,000 visitors.The 2nd "Organic lifestyle EXPO/OLE" closed with a great success.
The 2nd Organic Lifestyle EXPO organized by Organic Forum Japan was held on 29th (Sat) and 30th (Sun.) July, 2017 at the Tokyo International Forum in central Tokyo. The OLE theme was "Toward the realization of SDGs for sustainable development and promoting Organic 3.0".
2017.05.24
The press conference & exhibitors briefing for the 2nd Organic Lifestyle EXPO/OLE was held on Wednesday, May 24th
On Wednesday, May 24, the press announcement of the “Second Organic Lifestyle Expo” and a briefing session of the exhibition were held. OLE will be held at theTokyo International Forum in Yurakucho, Tokyo from 28th (Friday) to 30th (Sunday) July.
2016.12.15
Successful Start for the 1st "Organic Lifestyle EXPO" Over 190 exhibitors and about 20,000 visitors
The 1st "Organic Lifestyle Expo"/OLE organized by Organic Forum Japan was held on November 18th and 19th Saturday at the International Forum in central Tokyo. With many exhibitors in the hall presenting a wide range of organic, natural and ethical products and organic farmers and small producers offering their products in the outdoor space OLE was a lively and very successful event and the largest of its kind held in Japan this year.
2016.09.20
The 1st Organic Lifestyle EXPO held in Tokyo is on the way to success.
The OLE press conference held on 1st September was attended by 29 journalists from mass media and trade journals. An additional 14 media which could not attend requested a press release and information material.
2016.05.11
MAFF Steps up Promotion of Organic Movements, Agriculture and Market
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) decided at the end of March 2016 to allocate the total budget for the promotion of the organic movements, agriculture/products and market in the fiscal year 2016/2017 to an alliance of partners who pursue the three goals and targets set by the ministry.
The overall project is managed by “Jidai no Shoku to Noh wo Tsukurukai” (Next Generation Group to create Food & Agriculture) is aiming at a 10-fold expansion of the organic agriculture and market over the next 10 years.
Purpose and Goals of the Project
1) Efficient organic farming, environmental conservation and regional sustainable agriculture
2) Events and seminars to generate interest in organic activities and products
3) Connecting farmers, processors, distributors and consumers
Even though the Japanese organic market offers a good potential for farmers, processors, distributors and retailers, until now the growth has been rather small compared to Western and some Asian countries. There are several reasons and obstacles for this situation, and this project will make overall improvements in several areas with various activities.
From the viewpoint of MAFF, the support for conventional and organic farmers is very important. Many farms in remote locations are small and cannot provide sufficient income for their owners. Therefore, it is difficult to find successors, and many farms are abandoned. With efficient organic agriculture small and abandoned farms can be revived and made sustainable.
Most Japanese like natural and healthy food and would also buy more organic products if fresh and processed products were easily available and affordable. In the past natural/organic products were mainly sold at specialized retailers. Organic fruits/vegetables and some processed food are also sold in large volumes by home delivery companies.
With a growing consumer demand this has changed, and major supermarkets and chain stores nowadays are offering more organic products. This trend will also encourage large domestic food companies to offer more organic products.
Many Japanese consumers prefer high-quality domestic products, but also buy imported products. Japanese organic farmers offer excellent fruits and vegetables and with a growing market, the production capacity can be increased. – On the other hand, there is only a limited variety of processed organic products available which offers good business opportunities for foreign companies and their Japanese partners.
The Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 will bring many athletes and visitors to Tokyo and surrounding prefectures. These people want to enjoy the games and also eat healthy and tasty food. Therefore, the organizers and dedicated groups are planning to bring organic food and beverages to this event. This will promote organics and benefit all parties: participants and visitors, organic farmers, producers and distributors and contribute to a growing market.
Major tasks within the scope of this project are:
- Spreading information and generating more awareness about the organic movement and promotion of natural/organic products
- Training – workshops and seminars – for organic farmers and other people engaged in organic activities
- Connecting organic stakeholders and consumers and networking
Project partners and subsidies
The tasks, respective activities and budgets for achieving the goals as outlined above are shared by three project partners.
1) Food Trust Project (Organizing Partner of OLE) in charge of events/OLE
and seminars to generate interest in organic activities and products
Allocated budget: 15,388,000 Yen
2) My Farm and associates in charge of efficient organic farming,
promotion and training of new organic farmers
Allocated budget: 12,394,000 Yen
3) Saka no Tochu and associates in charge of connecting organic farmers/producers
with distributors/retailers, stakeholders and consumers. networking, website and database
(scheduled for 3 years)
Allocated budget: 21,490,000 Yen
Total approved budget: 49,272,000 Yen (approx. $ 465,000)
Exchange rates at the end of April 2016: 1 $ = 106 Yen / 1 € = 124 Yen
Since the project and goals are interrelated, the partners exchange information and work closely together. Relevant information and updates are placed on their websites and distributed by mailings, newsletters and other means.
Notes:
- At the press conference Jidai no Shoku to Noh wo Tsukurukai gave an overview of the project and explained the tasks – An English summary of the Japanese press release will be published on this website.
- More articles and press releases about the activities and progress of the project partners will be published in Japanese and English on the respective websites.
2016.02.05
Latest News about Organic Lifestyle EXPO 2016
In order to generate interest in the organic movement and OLE many seminars and presentations are held nationwide. The Organic Symposium held on 24 and 25 April 2015 in Tokyo attracted over 500 participants from all over Japan. The first press conference an presentation on 8 December 2015 was attended by over 150 people. Even though this event lasted over three hours, most media representatives and other attendants stayed until the end and showed keen interest.
In Japan several major exhibitions for food & beverages, health & wellness - are held in February and March. These events have many Japanese and a growing number of foreign exhibitors and draw large numbers of visitor. Furthermore, for most Japanese companies a new fiscal year begins in April.
Therefore, active exhibitor promotion for OLE will start from March.
Information material, exhibitor brochure & application forms (in Japanese and English) can be download from the web site http://ofj.jp/ and are also available in print.
Foreign exhibitors interested in the Special Services starting from September, should contact OLE – Overseas Promotion as soon as possible.
● kuhlmann@organicnetwork.biz
● http://ofj.or.jp / www.organicnetwork.biz
2015.10.13
A press conference will be held on December 8 (Tuesday).
1st Organic Forum JAPAN / Organic Lifestyle Expo Briefing & Press Conference,
Presentation and Panel Discussion
Free admission / pre-registration and on site
● Participants: media, associations, potential exhibitors
● Date: December 8, 2015 (Mo.) 13:30 - 16:30 / Registration from 13:00
● Location: Arcadia Ichigaya, fifth floor Hotaka-Hall
● Access：http://www.arcadia-jp.org/access.htm
※ Pre-registration is recommended because of limited seating capacity.
Please give your business card to the staff at the registration counter.
