Participation in the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, has delivered measurable business results for Czech companies. This is the finding of a survey by the Czech-Japan Hub association, in which partners of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 took part. More than a quarter of respondents have already signed specific contracts with Japanese partners, and a further 55 % are engaged in active business negotiations. The survey also confirmed that the culturally strategic approach Czechia chose in Osaka demonstrably accelerates the building of trust with the Japanese side.
The response rate reached 58 %, which is well above the usual 20 to 30 % standard for surveys aimed at top management. The high level of engagement shows that the EXPO topic remains relevant for companies and that they want to build on it. The survey among partners took place in April and May 2026 in the form of a questionnaire with 31 structured questions.
“Partnering with the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 represented an opportunity for us to connect our brand with a distinctive and unique project that represents the Czech Republic in an international context. We also see participation in the World Expo as an exceptional instrument of economic diplomacy. Our main goal was to support our business activities in Asia. Japan is the world leader in the production of industrial robots, for which we develop our Checkbot software, and Asia is the largest industrial robotics market in the world. We are satisfied with the effect of the partnership and we rate our cooperation with the Czech participation team at EXPO very positively,” confirmed Vladimír Fuchs, Sales Director of OKsystem, an official partner of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.
Similar experience was confirmed by the CEO of Elmarco, Miloslav Masopust: “Partnering with the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 met our expectations and delivered concrete results. A significant benefit for Elmarco was establishing strategic partnerships with selected participants and conference partners. At the same time, new collaborations emerged among the participants themselves, which we see as an important and valuable impact of the entire event.”
The pavilion as an accelerator of business trust
The survey tested three hypotheses about whether a national pavilion truly functions as a business platform. All three were confirmed.
A full 77 % of respondents stated that the environment of the Czech pavilion visibly accelerated the transition from formal contact to trusted cooperation with Japanese partners. Japanese business culture describes these concepts as the outer (soto, 外) and inner (uchi, 内) circles of relationships. Companies that underwent professional cultural preparation recorded this effect in 100 % of cases. Those that relied on their own intuition, by contrast, only in half.
The second confirmed effect is the transfer of the prestige of the national brand “Czechia” to the corporate brand. 73 % of companies actively used their status as a partner of the Czech pavilion as a reference to new clients, and not only in Japan but also in Czechia and other markets. The association with national participation at EXPO 2025 thus worked even beyond its originally intended scope.
The third important finding concerns the manner of communication: 91 % of companies chose the personal ritual of hospitality (omotenashi, 御持て成し in Japanese culture) as their key relationship-building tool, rather than a technological presentation. Only one company relied primarily on digital and interactive solutions. The result confirms that in the Japanese business environment the ritual of hospitality is the foundation of trust, and that technological excellence without this framework is not enough.
“EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai was an exceptionally important project for Japan, and I am very glad that the exhibition met with such great public interest. More than 29 million people visited it, and for many Japanese visitors it represented a unique opportunity to encounter cultures and ideas from around the world. I am pleased that Czechia played such a significant role at EXPO 2025. For many Japanese visitors, the Czech Pavilion became a place they returned to repeatedly and gladly, thanks to Czech hospitality and warmth, its celebrated gastronomy, the unique wooden structure of the pavilion, a rich cultural programme, and moreover its exceptional location within the EXPO grounds. The Czech Pavilion also recorded many positive benefits in the area of business. Over the course of six months, approximately 1,500 representatives of Japanese companies, including representatives of the largest Japanese firms, visited the pavilion as part of its business programme. The popularity of the Czech participation is also confirmed by the gold medal in the People’s Choice category,” explains Kansuke Nagaoka, the Japanese Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
The Japanese business cycle is long-term
Concrete media outputs and PR opportunities thanks to participation in EXPO were recorded by 65 % of companies. Satisfaction with the organisation was also high: the service of the Czech EXPO team scored 4.4 out of 5 points, and the functionality of the pavilion itself 4.3 out of 5.
Partners currently rate the perceived return on investment (ROI) at an average of 3.0 out of 5. This figure needs to be read in context: 86 % of companies cannot yet precisely estimate the financial value of the opportunities established, because the Japanese business cycle is naturally measured in months to years. 55 % of companies are in active negotiations, as contracts are concluded gradually, even several months after the exhibition itself has ended.
82 % of respondents confirmed their interest in continuing in Japan, and for 64 % of companies it is even a priority. All of these companies expressed interest in follow-up forms of support, from targeted matchmaking with Japanese partners, to navigating Japanese regulation, physical facilities in Japan, and strategic analyses. It is precisely these needs that the newly emerging Czech-Japan Hub platform addresses, with the aim of preserving the capital of relationships and know-how built during EXPO 2025 and systematically developing it for the Czech business community in Japan and the wider Indo-Pacific.
“Our survey demonstrated that participating companies do not regard their participation as a one-off presentation, but are interested in developing their presence in Japan over the long term. The Czech Pavilion acted as a ‘seal of credibility’ and helped companies establish or strengthen their relationships with Japanese partners,” says Ondřej Soška, Commissioner General of the Czech Republic for EXPO 2025 Osaka and Chairman of Czech-Japan Hub, z. s., adding: “I am very glad that a number of companies have already signed concrete contracts. The EXPO 2025 World Expo may be over, but I am convinced that the relationships and business partnerships will keep working for a long time to come. We will conduct similar surveys regularly in order to track further developments and the return on investment in the Czech participation at EXPO 2025.”
Value even without expansion into Japan
The survey also showed that the benefit of participating in EXPO is not measured solely by the willingness to expand directly into Japan. Some partners do not plan further development on the Japanese market, yet participation still had clear value for them. 73 % of companies actively used their status as a partner of the Czech pavilion as a reference, and not only in Japan but also with clients in Czechia and other European markets, where the association with national participation in the World Expo brings further benefits. Concrete media outputs and PR opportunities thanks to participation were recorded by 65 % of partners. For many companies, participation in EXPO 2025 thus became a prestigious reference in itself. It is therefore clear that the benefit of partnering with the Czech pavilion at the World Expo has two dimensions: direct business opportunities in Japan, and the strengthening of companies’ reputation and negotiating position at home.
About the survey
The online survey was conducted in April and May 2026 among partners of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai. 22 of the 38 partners contacted responded (a 58 % response rate). Respondent profile: 52 % B2B, 43 % a combination of B2B/B2C, 5 % B2C. The methodology and questionnaire were authored by David Bernard.
The questionnaire contained 31 structured questions divided into five parts, following the structure of the classic Japanese tanka (短歌) poem. Tanka is the oldest Japanese poetic form; its five verses, in a rhythm of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, add up to exactly 31 syllables, precisely the number of questions in this questionnaire. The five-part structure accompanies the respondent along the entire journey of EXPO participation: from the original intention (志 Kokorozashi), through preparation (支度 Shitaku) and the encounter in Osaka itself (出会い Deai), to the harvested fruits (実り Minori) and the continuation (続きTsuzuki).
About Czech-Japan Hub
Czech-Japan Hub, z. s. (CJH) is a non-profit platform focused on developing Czech-Japanese business and institutional relations. It was established in the wake of Czechia’s participation in EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, with the aim of preserving and systematically developing the capital of relationships, knowledge, and contacts built during the World Expo. CJH acts as a strategic partner for companies entering the Japanese market and the wider Indo-Pacific. It combines deep knowledge of the local environment, established business and institutional relationships in Japan and Czechia, and practical experience in delivering international projects. The co-founder and chairman of the association is Ondřej Soška, Commissioner General of the Czech Republic for EXPO 2025 Osaka (09/2022 – 30/2026).
Media contact
Czech-Japan Hub · czechjapan.org · press@czechjapan.org