Major success for first Label Summit Japan

Label Summit Japan 2006, which took place last month, welcomed 650 visitors to the event in Tokyo and celebrated the major success of this first ever summit in Japan. The event is Japan’s only international conference and exhibition dedicated to the label industry, providing a unique focal point for senior decision-makers to come together to do business and identify new opportunities for growth in the largest label market in Asia.

Hundreds of delegates traveled from within Japan and other key international label markets to attend the high-level conference where they were able to learn about the latest trends and technological developments affecting the future of the industry both nationally and internationally. The keynote address on the ‘World of Labels in Japan’ was presented by Mitsuo Komiyama, president of the Japan Federation of Label Printing Industries (JFLP).

Mr Komiyama commented: ‘This was our first experience of a truly global conference and the summit represents an important milestone for the Japanese label industry. Over 200 federation members participated in the summit as speakers and attendees and were able to identify some strong new business opportunities. Label Summit Japan was real success for all those involved.’

A range of Japanese and international experts delivered keynote presentations to delegates. Tadashi Matsuguchi, president of Osaka Sealing Printing, demonstrated how his organization puts into practice the rationalization of label production. Masato Iwata, president of Iwata Label, focused on the niche market of printing pharmaceutical labels. He explained to delegates what label technology is needed to provide unique functional labels for specific pharmaceutical products, such as syringes and labels that act as containers for drugs. Other hot topics on the packed conference program included: developments in smart labels and their predicted impact on the future of the industry; end-user requirements; and opportunities with UV flexo and digital printing.

Natsuki Uchida, editor of the publication Label Shimbun, revealed the results of a new survey of Japanese label converting trends at the summit. The survey highlighted the current dominance of self-adhesive labels and semi-rotary letterpress printing in Japan, but also demonstrated that label printers are increasingly looking at producing a wider range of products including developing security, brand protection, counterfeit deterrence and tamper evident solutions.

Mr Toru Tazoe, president of Label Shimbun Co., said:  ‘We’re delighted with Label Summit Japan and we’re very pleased to be involved as a partner. The summit provided the ideal environment to meet and network with 650 senior label industry representatives, including converters, printers and end-user organizations. We’ve also proud of the high-quality presentations delivered during this in-depth conference and we hope this has provided a major stepping stone for the expansion of the Japanese label industry on a global scale.’

Roger Pellow, Labelexpo managing director, said: ‘We’re very pleased with the success of the summit and we believe this was the largest ever gathering of label printers in Japan. The conference provided the ideal opportunity for the country’s industry to tap into the key factors that will influence the way they do business now and in the future. The summit has helped to open up a huge range of overseas opportunities for the Japanese label industry. We’d like to thank our prestigious speakers and partners, JFLP and Label Shimbun for their support and contribution. We look forward to our next summit in Japan which will take place in 2008.’