Today, 24 September, Lviv hosted the first-ever Lviv Japan Business Forum. The event brought together more than 350 participants, including representatives of Ukrainian and Japanese businesses, government institutions, international organisations, and the financial sector. The forum provided a platform for building new partnerships between Ukraine and Japan.

Participants discussed opportunities for cooperation between Ukrainian and Japanese businesses, investment attraction, access to the Japanese market for Ukrainian companies, and the role of Japanese businesses in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. The forum also featured B2B meetings designed to establish direct connections between companies from the two countries.

“A year ago, we opened Japan Desk in Lviv, and today we already have a forum bringing Ukraine and Japan together. My dream is for us to build a thousand bridges between Ukrainian and Japanese companies, cities, and organisations. Cooperation, cooperation, and more cooperation — that is what we need. Many Japanese companies already have ideas for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. Now is the time to start putting those ideas into action,” said Lviv City Mayor Andrii Sadovyy.

According to Andrii Pavliv, Head of the Investment and Projects Office of Lviv City Council, the forum builds on Lviv’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Ukrainian-Japanese business cooperation and develop a partnership ecosystem between Lviv and Japan.

A year ago, Lviv opened Japan Desk Lviv, a municipal service designed to foster cooperation with Japan. It serves as a point of entry for Japanese companies interested in operating in Lviv and Ukraine, while also helping Ukrainian businesses establish connections with Japanese partners.

Japan Desk Lviv was launched in July 2025 to promote cooperation between Lviv and Japan. During its first year, the team helped establish the city’s first official test centre for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), developed partnerships in education, culture, tourism, and business, and facilitated connections between Japanese companies and Lviv-based businesses. Cooperation with Japanese partners in innovation and defence technologies has also become a separate focus of its work. The inaugural Lviv Japan Business Forum marked another step forward in developing these ties.

Lviv Japan Business Forum 2026 is organised by the Investment and Projects Office of Lviv City Council as part of the activities of Japan Desk Lviv. The event is supported by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine through a project funded by the Government of Japan, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The forum’s partners are Globus Development, Deloitte, KredoBank, Crédit Agricole, and the !FEST emotional holding company. The European Business Association (EBA) is the forum’s media partner.

Photos: Andrii Pashkovskyi, Roman Baluk.