What happens when two countries with deep biotechnology and fermentation traditions come together?
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming a large Japanese delegation to 21st.BIO in Copenhagen, including representatives from Japan’s Food Safety Commission Secretariat, Consumer Affairs Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), as well as the Embassy of Japan in Denmark and Royal Danish Embassy in Japan.
The discussion centered on a shared opportunity: how biotechnology and biosolutions can contribute to a more resilient, sustainable and competitive future for Japan.
Denmark has built a remarkable biosolutions ecosystem over decades, with companies such as Carlsberg, Novo Nordisk and Novonesis demonstrating how scientific discoveries can be turned into technologies and businesses with substantial global impact.
Japan, meanwhile, has an extraordinary history of fermentation, world-class technology and manufacturing expertise, and is – as prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has affirmed – already investing heavily in building biotechnology as a strategic industry.
We believe the elements are there for Japan to build on this heritage and become a global leader in biosolutions too.
What is needed is the right combination of technology, industrial capacity, investment, regulatory clarity and strong partnerships across the value chain.
Precision fermentation can be one piece of that puzzle, enabling production of proteins and other biological products with radically different footprints, while helping strengthen supply chains and create new industrial opportunities.
After the discussion, we took the delegation through our pilot plant and labs to show what scaling these technologies looks like in practice.
A great afternoon of conversations, questions and ideas. And hopefully, the beginning of many more collaborations between the Danish and Japanese biosolutions ecosystems.
Thank you very much to our visitors for an inspiring exchange, and to the Royal Danish Embassy and Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for organizing the delegation’s visit to Denmark. ありがとうございます!
