OpportunItaly at Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026: new opportunities for Italian design in Japan
With eight companies in the Italian Pavilion organised by ITA – Italian Trade Agency, Italy brought to Tokyo a selection of high-quality furniture, décor, lighting and manufacturing
From 10 to 12 June, Italian design took centre stage in Tokyo on the occasion of Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026, the trade fair dedicated to furniture and home accessories held at Tokyo Big Sight. The event represented a key appointment in Japan for industry professionals, offering a meeting space for companies, operators, designers and buyers.
The fair featured around 400 companies and exhibitors from 15 countries and regions, including China, South Korea, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan. These figures placed the Tokyo design fair 2026 within a selective professional context, where furniture products were assessed not only for their material characteristics, but also for their ability to fit into a broader system of style, function and quality of the living experience.
The Italian participation and the Italian Pavilion
Within this framework, ITA – Italian Trade Agency organised the Italian collective participation, with a 108 sqm national pavilion hosting eight companies, across a space divided into two exhibition islands.
The space reflected the way in which the Japanese market interpreted the furniture experience. Japanese showrooms, in fact, presented furniture, accessories and homeware as elements integrated into a coherent “lifestyle”. The National Pavilion therefore followed this approach by presenting the best products to represent a lifestyle with Italian nuances.
The companies promoting Made in Italy quality brought to Tokyo a diversified offering, in which craftsmanship, lines and materials engaged with the needs of a market attentive to manufacturing quality and the coherence of the overall proposal.
OpportunItaly alongside companies
As part of the broader mission to promote Italian excellence and strengthen international trade relations, Interior Lifestyle Tokyo was selected as one of the strategic initiatives within OpportunItaly, the business acceleration programme launched by ITA – Italian Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The presence of the programme for accelerating the internationalisation of Italian companies aimed to connect foreign buyers, distributors and entrepreneurs with the know-how and excellence of Made in Italy. From this perspective, the Japanese event was not only an exhibition opportunity, but became part of a broader relationship-building path between Italian companies and international stakeholders.
Through the Buyers Club, one of the key services made available by OpportunItaly, foreign operators had the opportunity to connect with the initiatives and pathways dedicated to anyone wishing to combine Italian quality with their business. Thanks to the programme for accelerating the internationalisation of companies, furniture and design businesses — one of the sectors of Made in Italy excellence — were able to maintain and develop new relationships with the Japanese market through a more structured system of contact and commercial development.
The activities of Italian institutions
Alongside the presence of companies in the Italian Pavilion, Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026 also included moments of discussion linked to the culture of Italian design. On the morning of 11 June, in the Lifestyle Salon seminar area, the conference “Re-designing space and ideas: the Italian point of view” was held, in line with the theme of Italian Design Day 2026: “RE-DESIGN Regenerating spaces, objects, ideas, relationships”.
The meeting was curated by Italian Design Japan, a non-profit association bringing together Italian architects, designers, graphic designers and creatives active in Japan. The presence of this association connected the exhibition dimension of the fair with a broader narrative around Italian design in Japan, placing the relationship between space, objects, ideas and relationships at the centre.
In this context, the role of ITA – Italian Trade Agency, the framework of Italian Design Day and the involvement of Italian Design Japan strengthened the link between economic promotion, design culture and the Italian presence in the Japanese market.
Data on the Italian furniture and design sector
Trade relations with Japan added value to the Italian presence at Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026. The Japanese market, in fact, has recognised the quality of Italian design for its ability to combine quality, beauty and respect for the environment. The theme of sustainability has reinforced this perspective. Attention to materials, ergonomics and the quality of the user experience has engaged with the way in which sustainable design is redefining new production and design scenarios.
In 2025, Italian exports to the Asian country in the furniture sector recorded significant growth compared with the previous year across several categories. Wooden furniture grew by 23.5%, reaching 4,078 million yen. The “chairs”category recorded an increase of 3.3%, equal to 7,456 million yen, while plastic furniture grew by 9.0%, reaching 297 million yen. The sector overview also showed some declines.
Metal and wooden office furniture recorded a decrease of 4.4%, equal to 1,166 million yen, while lighting recorded a decline of 9.3%, reaching 156 million yen. Overall, the picture was that of a selective market, in which some categories of Italian furniture showed positive performance while others required a more targeted presence.
Italian companies around the world thanks to OpportunItaly
Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026 confirmed the role of international events as opportunities for Italian companies to meet foreign markets. For OpportunItaly, the selection of the fair among the programme’s strategic initiatives responded to a precise objective: to support the entry and competitive positioning of Italian companies in international markets, enhancing the excellence of Made in Italy and creating connections with foreign buyers, distributors and entrepreneurs.
For Italian companies in furniture, design and lifestyle, this meant being able to rely on an ecosystem designed to transform a trade fair presence into a more stable relationship with foreign operators. To discover the opportunities dedicated to companies and international buyers, join the programme.
Source:
ITA – Italian Trade Agency
In summary
Interior Lifestyle Tokyo 2026 took place from 10 to 12 June 2026 at Tokyo Big Sight.
The 2026 edition featured around 400 companies and exhibitors from 15 countries and regions.
The Official Italian Pavilion organised by ITA – Italian Trade Agency hosted eight companies across approximately 108 sqm, divided into two exhibition islands.
The Italian presence included home accessories, plexiglass chairs, outdoor furniture, traditional inlay work and Murano glass lighting.
OpportunItaly selected Interior Lifestyle Tokyo among its strategic initiatives to foster commercial connections between international buyers, distributors and Italian companies.