Japan: “Italia, amore mio” presented in its third edition

The third edition of “Italia, amore mio!” was presented at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo. It is the largest festival dedicated to Italy organised by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ). This year, “Brand Italy” will be showcased in three cities: Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, respectively in April, July and November. The event, which in the previous edition recorded over 50,000 visitors, is ready to kick off in the Japanese capital from 21 to 22 April, in a venue in one of the city’s most prestigious areas amidst some of the city’s best urban rehabilitation examples: the area of the Terrada Art Complex on Tennozu Isle. The series of events that will be staged will include music, cinema, art, food and design, featuring the concerts by Emma Marrone and by Italian rapper Shade, film actor Giuseppe Battiston, and the world’s cocktail-mixing champion Bruno Vanzan. It will be an Italian-style weekend with a look at the future with the theme ‘The Architecture of Beauty’, with the participation of the biggest world stars of Italian and Japanese contemporary architecture, exceptionally united for the event. The event’s principal stage will be designed by Kengo Kuma. “Italy’s economic system, united as one, participates in this extraordinary initiative to valorise and promote the ‘Italian Way of Life’,” said the Italian Ambassador to Japan, Giorgio Starace. He went on: “When Italy enters the arena, it does so with elegance and passion, and the Embassy is in the front line along with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo, the Trade Promotion Section of the Embassy and ENIT – The Italian Government Tourist Board, in offering assistance to our companies, the Italian world of culture and the regional entities interested in promoting tourism in our Country.” For the first time this year, the “Italia, amore mio!” Programme will not only involve Tokyo but also the cities of Nagoya and Osaka, in an attempt to duplicate the success of the preceding editions. “Undoubtedly, there are opportunities for our companies to expand in other areas of Japan and this is why we are commercially exploring these two poles, which are very important, while subsequently planning to also expand in the southern and northern regions of the archipelago,” said the Secretary General of the ICCJ, Davide Fantoni. He added: “In strictly promotional terms, the passion and love that there is for Italy does not end in Tokyo; on the contrary: it is even stronger in the Country’s rural areas. So, what we have to do is share with the Japanese this passion that they have for products Made in Italy.”