On September 2, 2025, the “42nd JAMECA-MAJECA Joint Conference” was held at the Tokyo International Forum. This meeting, hosted by the Japan-Malaysia Economic Association (JAMECA) and the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA), is held biennially by the two countries and aims to strengthen economic relations between them.

At the opening, congratulatory messages from the leaders of both countries were delivered, read on their behalf by a counselor from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian Ambassador to Japan. Approximately 100 participants from Japan and Malaysia attended this year's meeting, most of whom were representatives of the business community and private companies, with some attendees from universities and research institutions. With nearly equal numbers of participants from both countries, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity for representatives from industry and academia to gather and exchange views.

Dr. UKE Ayaka, a researcher in the Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division at the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), chaired Plenary Session 2: “Agricultural Innovation” at this year's conference in Japan. In her opening remarks, she introduced initiatives under the Cabinet Office's BRIDGE Project and emphasized the importance of agricultural innovation.

The subsequent panel discussion featured experts in fields such as drone utilization, smart agriculture, and the blue bioeconomy. The experts engaged in a lively debate on how to scale up agricultural innovation technologies and implement them in society. A significant outcome of the conference was the establishment of an important foundation for networks and collaboration to further promote the social implementation of these projects.