From Wednesday to Friday, 1 to 3 July, the 33rd Chair of the EU-Japan Festival Committee, Makoto Takashima, will visit Chemnitz with a delegation. Over the course of the three days, they will find out about the projects they are supporting as part of Chemnitz’s European Capital of Culture 2025 programme and discuss future cooperation projects with local officials. The delegation includes, amongst others, Jiro Kogi, Secretary-General of the EU-Japan Festival Committee, and Saori Hakoda, Programme Director of the EU-Japan Festival Committee.
The EU-Japan Fest Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1992, funded by European governments, the Agency for Cultural Affairs and other Japanese government bodies, as well as through donations from Japanese companies such as Toyota, Hitachi and Mitsubishi. These companies regularly support European Capitals of Culture in implementing projects.
On Wednesday 1 July, from 2 pm to 3 pm, the delegation led by Makoto Takashima will visit the Garagen-Campus at Zwickauer Straße 164. There, they will meet the architect Kengo Kuma. Representatives of the media are invited to attend this event.
Tina Winkel from Garagen-Campus e.V. and Jacob Strobel, Professor of Timber Design at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Schneeberg at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in Zwickau, will give a presentation on the recent international summer school ‘Archipelago Chemnitz – Making the City’, which took place in June during Chemnitz’s year as European Capital of Culture 2025. Kengo Kuma acted as patron and delivered the opening lecture at the Garagen-Campus to an audience of around 60 participating students and lecturers. Participating universities included the Manchester School of Architecture, the University of Tokyo, the Saar College of Architecture, the Bauhaus University Weimar and the Schneeberg University of Applied Arts.
Makoto Takashima and Kengo Kuma will jointly view the sculpture ‘Colours and Crystals’, which was created during the summer school in the spirit of Frei Otto and under the guidance of Professor Göran Pohl from the Saar College of Architecture, and has been on display in the main hall of the Garagen Campus ever since. The EU-Japan Festival Committee had generously supported the summer school and the exhibition entitled “Beyond Geometry. Frei Otto × Kengo Kuma” at the Chemnitz Art Collections, in which the working principles of the two renowned architects were compared.
On Friday 3 July, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze will welcome the delegation and the Deputy Ambassador of Japan, Kunihiko Kawazu, to the Town Hall, Markt 1, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer. Representatives of the media are also invited to attend.
At around 4.50 pm, the following individuals will sign the Golden Book of the City of Chemnitz in the Town Hall’s lobby:
- Mr Kunihiko Kawazu, Deputy Ambassador of Japan
- Mr Makoto Takashima, 33rd Chair of the EU-Japan Festival Committee
- Ms Satoko Takashima
- Mr Jiro Kogi, Secretary-General of the EU-Japan Festival Committee
- Ms Saori Hakoda, Programme Director of the EU-Japan Festival Committee
- Mr Isao Sakura, employee of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
- Mr Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, staff member at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
The rest of the programme
The visit is dedicated to cultural dialogue between Japan and Europe. The delegation will take part in several events involving Japanese participants, including:
- Chemnitz–Kagoshima Music Exchange: On Wednesday 1 July at 6 pm in the concert hall of the Municipal Music School, school bands from Chemnitz and Kagoshima will present the results of their joint rehearsals. Admission is free. (see also press release 428)
- Dance performance ‘Shintai to Shintai’: On Friday 3 July at 8.00 pm at the Hartmannfabrik, Japanese choreographer Yoko Ando from Yokohama will present a collaborative project with the group Tanzende Nachbarn. The production was created during the European Capital of Culture year 2025 and is enriched by dancers from the Japanese partner programme “Challenge of the Silver” (Kanagawa Arts Foundation). This initiative has been supported by the Foundation from the outset; it brings together people of different ages and backgrounds through shared dance.
Also planned are meetings with the organisers of the Makers United festival, as well as an excursion to the Capital of Culture region to view individual artworks along the Purple Path, including ‘Beyond Horizon’ by James Turrell. The delegation will be welcomed by the mayors Nico Dittmann (Thalheim) and Thomas Lein (Oelsnitz/Erz.), who will introduce the region and report on the successful collaboration between the 38 local authorities during the 2025 Capital of Culture year.
Background on the delegation
Makoto Takashima is the current Chairman of the Board of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). SMBC is one of Japan’s three largest banking groups. Makoto Takashima regularly speaks at global forums such as the World Economic Forum (WEF).