Interior ministry opens Korean pavilion at Tokyo safety expo for third year

The interior ministry said Monday it will run a Korean pavilion at RISCON Tokyo 2026 for a third consecutive year, taking 23 Korean disaster safety companies to the Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 show at Tokyo Big Sight.

The ministry is organizing the pavilion with the Busan, North Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province governments, which are supporting the participating companies. The firms will present earthquake warning systems and response equipment, fire response products, and rescue and emergency medical gear, and will take part in a purchase and investment briefing and a business consultation session with Japanese and other overseas buyers and investors. A separate seminar on entering the Japanese market will share the know-how and market information of leading local companies.

The ministry has run a Korean pavilion at the exhibition every year since 2024 to promote Korean disaster safety technology in the Japanese market.

Last year, 25 companies took part in the Korean pavilion and held 551 business consultations with overseas buyers, with contract talks covering about 71.9 billion won ($53.2 million) and five memorandums of understanding signed.

During the exhibition, the ministry will meet Japan's Cabinet Office to discuss expanding cooperation in the disaster safety industry between the two countries, and will ask the Japanese government and companies to take part in the 2027 Safety Industry Expo in Korea.

"As complex and large-scale disasters become more frequent due to climate change, cooperation between countries in the disaster safety field and securing overseas competitiveness for the industry are becoming more important," said Park Hyung-bae, head of the ministry's safety prevention policy office. "We will continue to actively support our disaster safety companies' entry into overseas markets and expand cooperation with major countries to raise the standing of Korea's disaster safety industry."

RISCON Tokyo covers disaster mitigation, corporate crisis management and security, and draws about 20,000 buyers and visitors each year.