The 13th Asia Smart City Conference was held from October 23 to 24 at the Pacifico Yokohama conference center in Yokohama, hosted by the City of Yokohama. Under the theme of “Decarbonization” and the slogan “Asian Cities Together for a Greener Future” more than 2,200 participants from Asian cities, international organizations, corporations, and students from Japan and abroad gathered to share challenges, visions for growth, and solutions based on advanced technologies toward the implementation of a sustainable green society.

The conference consisted of 18 sessions, including sessions led by international organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as well as Yokohama City, JICA, and CityNet. The sessions were divided into two main themes: the “City Session,” aimed at sharing visions and knowledge on the theme of sustainable urban development; and the ” Business Session,” aimed at gaining new insights and discoveries toward decarbonization and creating new business opportunities and innovations.

Young people from the Yokohama Future Creation Council and local universities presented their ideas for implementing a green society. There were also presentations about  the collaborative creations that GREEN✕EXPO 2027 aims to achieve , as well as lectures by top runners such as neuroscientist Mr. Kenichiro Mogi.

The closing session, held on the afternoon of the 24th, opened with speech by Mr. Asahi, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Ministry of the Environment, and a video message from Mr. Takeuchi, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD.

Following this, Yokohama’s Mayor Yamanaka, Asian Development Bank Representative in Japan Ms. Tamura, World Bank Senior Urban Specialist and TDLC Team Leader Mr. Pablo, and Cebu Mayor Garcia took the stage. A panel discussion was held among these four panelists from diverse backgrounds.

After the panel discussion, the Mayor of Yokohama announced the “Yokohama Declaration.”

The declaration mentioned the important role of cities in tackling climate change and strengthening inter-city cooperation, both of which had been discussed during the conference. Furthermore, the Mayor expressed the city’s determination to contribute to the creation of a sustainable green society by taking advantage of international conferences such as the Asia Smart City Conference and international networking to widely share innovations and strategies within Asian cities with the world.

39 cities and institutions that participated in the conference expressed their support. The conference, which was attended by a diverse range of stakeholders, representatives of Asian cities, international organizations, academic institutions, and private companies, was a success, and Yokohama will continue to work with them to move forward toward a greener future.

The conference concluded successfully with a photo shoot with the 45 cities and organizations that witnessed the announcement of the Yokohama Declaration.

For more information on Yokohama’s climate action and sustainability goals, visit Yokohama: A Green Hub in Asia