The new Consulate of Switzerland, Swissnex in Japan officially opened on September 30! The Grand Opening ceremony was a remarkable success, graced by the presence of State Secretary Martina Hirayama, State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI, along with Ambassador Andreas Baum, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama, City of Osaka, Vice Governor Nobuhiko Yamaguchi, Osaka Prefectural Government and Deputy General-Director Tetsuya Tanaka, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In total, one hundred Swiss and Japanese dignitaries from government, academia, and industry joined the celebrations! Hosted by Swiss Consul & CEO Dr. Felix Moesner, this celebratory event featured a dynamic mix of engaging speeches and inspiring conversations, shining a light on ‘𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆’ and the remarkable achievements of Swiss innovation. We extend our special gratitude for the remarkable interventions from Dr. Michael Hengartner, Dr. Tanja Zimmermann, Director of Empa, Dr. Yuko Harayama, former Executive Member of CSTI, Cabinet Office, and Mr. Christoph Beuttler, Climeworks. The event also showcased nine pioneering startups and scaleups in the fields of solar fuels, carbon capture from the air, ambient PET recycling, autonomous-legged robots, and drones. Finally, the spotlight was also put on the upcoming Expo 2025 Osaka, with the theme ‘Designing future society for our lives’. Alexandre Edelmann, Presence Switzerland, introduced the key features of the Swiss Pavilion. Its three themes are in line with the focus areas of Swissnex — "Life", "Planet" and "Augmented Human”, and our presence at the Expo is planned in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. As the first science consulate in Japan and the 6th main location of the global Swissnex, we will help to further promote collaborations between universities, research institutions, and startups of both nations and strengthen Switzerland’s excellent bilateral research cooperation with Japan. Swissnex in Japan is notably going to foster collaboration on a systemic level in areas of strategic importance such as quantum science, AI, or robotics.