More than a hundred senior executives from Japan’s government and private sector landed in Hong Kong on 2 November 2025, setting in motion one of the largest post-pandemic inbound business missions the city has hosted. Co-ordinated by the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Tokyo and Invest Hong Kong, the five-day programme will see eight Japanese fintech firms exhibit in a dedicated Japan Pavilion at Hong Kong FinTech Week × StartmeupHK Festival 2025, which opens on 3 November.
The timing is significant for two reasons. First, FinTech Week marks its 10-year anniversary with a record 37,000 international attendees expected—an early test of Hong Kong’s expanded convention-and-exhibition strategy and the city’s latest smart-travel infrastructure such as the new Face Easy e-Channel at Hong Kong International Airport. Second, the mission comes just weeks before the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge and West Kowloon Station are added to China’s 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, giving Japanese executives more routing options for follow-up meetings across the Greater Bay Area.
During the visit the delegation will shuttle between events at the Convention & Exhibition Centre, Cyberport, and Shenzhen. Bespoke sessions include investor matching, Greater Bay Area site visits and briefings on Hong Kong’s fast-track work-visa programmes such as the Top Talent Pass Scheme. Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Chief Advisor for International Finance, Hiromi Yamaoka, and Finolab Head Makoto Shibata will speak on regulatory sandboxes and cross-border payment experiments, underscoring deepening bilateral collaboration.
![Japanese business delegation arrives in Hong Kong ahead of FinTech Week 2025]()
For Hong Kong, the trip is a chance to reboot corporate travel flows from a market that supplied over 1.2 million visitors annually before 2020 and remains Asia’s largest source of outbound investment. Hoteliers report that Japanese arrivals for FinTech Week have pushed average daily rates in Wan Chai above HK$1,900, a 15 per cent premium on the same week last year. Airlines have likewise added capacity—Cathay Pacific reinstated its fifth daily Haneda service on 1 November while HK Express up-gauged selected Osaka rotations to A321neo aircraft.
Industry observers say the mission illustrates how thematic trade events are becoming catalysts for global mobility. "Visa-on-arrival at the airport, automated e-gates, and proximity to Shenzhen mean executives can assess opportunities in both Hong Kong and the mainland in a single trip," notes Dr Fiona Lau, associate professor of logistics at Polytechnic University. With Hong Kong courting family offices and digital-asset firms, the city’s ability to handle large, sophisticated delegations efficiently will be critical to its positioning as an international business hub.
Participants will depart on 7 November after a Greater Bay Area tour that includes cross-border motor-coach transits via the HZMB and a high-speed-rail leg from Shenzhen North to West Kowloon—journeys that will soon enjoy streamlined immigration thanks to the forthcoming 240-hour transit-visa expansion. If feedback is positive, organisers intend to double the size of next year’s delegation, signalling renewed confidence in Hong Kong’s connectivity and hospitality ecosystem.
The timing is significant for two reasons. First, FinTech Week marks its 10-year anniversary with a record 37,000 international attendees expected—an early test of Hong Kong’s expanded convention-and-exhibition strategy and the city’s latest smart-travel infrastructure such as the new Face Easy e-Channel at Hong Kong International Airport. Second, the mission comes just weeks before the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge and West Kowloon Station are added to China’s 240-hour visa-free transit scheme, giving Japanese executives more routing options for follow-up meetings across the Greater Bay Area.
During the visit the delegation will shuttle between events at the Convention & Exhibition Centre, Cyberport, and Shenzhen. Bespoke sessions include investor matching, Greater Bay Area site visits and briefings on Hong Kong’s fast-track work-visa programmes such as the Top Talent Pass Scheme. Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Chief Advisor for International Finance, Hiromi Yamaoka, and Finolab Head Makoto Shibata will speak on regulatory sandboxes and cross-border payment experiments, underscoring deepening bilateral collaboration.
For Hong Kong, the trip is a chance to reboot corporate travel flows from a market that supplied over 1.2 million visitors annually before 2020 and remains Asia’s largest source of outbound investment. Hoteliers report that Japanese arrivals for FinTech Week have pushed average daily rates in Wan Chai above HK$1,900, a 15 per cent premium on the same week last year. Airlines have likewise added capacity—Cathay Pacific reinstated its fifth daily Haneda service on 1 November while HK Express up-gauged selected Osaka rotations to A321neo aircraft.
Industry observers say the mission illustrates how thematic trade events are becoming catalysts for global mobility. "Visa-on-arrival at the airport, automated e-gates, and proximity to Shenzhen mean executives can assess opportunities in both Hong Kong and the mainland in a single trip," notes Dr Fiona Lau, associate professor of logistics at Polytechnic University. With Hong Kong courting family offices and digital-asset firms, the city’s ability to handle large, sophisticated delegations efficiently will be critical to its positioning as an international business hub.
Participants will depart on 7 November after a Greater Bay Area tour that includes cross-border motor-coach transits via the HZMB and a high-speed-rail leg from Shenzhen North to West Kowloon—journeys that will soon enjoy streamlined immigration thanks to the forthcoming 240-hour transit-visa expansion. If feedback is positive, organisers intend to double the size of next year’s delegation, signalling renewed confidence in Hong Kong’s connectivity and hospitality ecosystem.
