JIHE 2026, Japan’s Largest* Hemp/CBD Expo, Announces Official Sponsors, Partners and Programme for 13–14 November in Tokyo

TOKYO, 7 October 2026 — Asabis Inc., together with co-organiser GREEN ZONE JAPAN, today announced the speakers, sessions and participating companies for JIHE 2026 — Japan International Hemp Expo, taking place on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026 at House of OMOTESANDO in Tokyo. Alongside the exhibition, the CannaCon conference features speakers from Japan and overseas across eight sessions in Japanese and English with AI subtitles. For overseas companies, the two days offer a direct route to Japanese buyers, distributors and partners.

Why Japan, why now

Japan regulates hemp and cannabinoids on its own terms, and the market is already operating inside those rules. Amendments in force since 12 December 2024 brought THC under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act, opened a legal pathway for approved cannabis-derived medicines, and renamed the Cannabis Control Act the Act on Regulation of Cultivation of Cannabis Plants. Since 1 March 2025, cultivation has been licensed under that Act through a new licensing system, with licences granted according to the purpose of cultivation. Residual limits for Δ9-THC in products are clear: 10 ppm for oils, fats and powders; 0.1 ppm for beverages and other aqueous solutions; and 1 ppm for other products.

Within these rules, compliant CBD products from foods to cosmetics are already on sale, and major Japanese companies are entering the field. For overseas companies, the opportunity is to build compliant supply chains and long-term partnerships in this market now.

Speakers from our Official Sponsors

• Kohei Yamada — Founder & CEO, KISEKI GROUP (Japan)
• Mary Szomjassy Brown — Co-Founder & COO, TrueImports (USA)
• Stephan Moreels — Managing Director, Control Union (Thailand)

Conference highlights

• What Japan’s hemp industry needs to grow: cultivation, seeds, breeding and regulation (13 Nov, Japanese/English) — Anar Artur (CBD Mongolia), Elena Yaneva (Hempstatic), Patrick Chin (Clairvoyant Lab), Stephan Moreels (Control Union Thailand) and Paul Benhaim (The Hemp Plastic Company), with Japanese practitioners.
• Quality control and traceability: connecting every step from cultivation to the consumer (13 Nov, Japanese/English) — Centred on TrueImports’ quality management system, with the three Official Sponsor speakers, Michael Hadjisavas (p-Chip Corporation) and Kaito Amano (Operations Manager, KCA Labs Japan).
• Medical cannabis and cancer care (13 Nov, Japanese/English) — Physicians and researchers from Japan and abroad discuss the clinical and regulatory landscape.
• Latest trends in the CBD and cannabis industry overseas and their impact on the Japanese market (14 Nov, English) — With Sharon Deidre Leyson (Dydy, Secretary General, AIHF), Laura Ramos (Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief, CannaReporter), Morris Beegle (Founder, Industrial Hemp International) and Dr. Mark G. Darko (President/CEO, Chamber of Cannabis Industry-Ghana).
• Japanese-language sessions include Will cannabis-derived medicines ever be available in Japan?, with Ichiro Takumi, Chair of the Japanese Clinical Association of Cannabinoids (JCAC); Go-to-market strategies for Japan’s hemp industry, and Cannabis in integrative medicine: cannabis as a medicinal herb and the potential of terpenes.

Session times are provisional: https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/program. Full speaker list: https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/spea kers.

An international partner network

JIHE 2026 is supported by eight organisations, including the Asia International Hemp Federation (AIHF), the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), the National Industrial Hemp Council of America (NIHC) and the Chamber of Cannabis Industry, Ghana, alongside JCAC, the National Hemp Industry Council (NHIC), HEMP HUB and the Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association. AIHF and NIHC will also exhibit. 13 media partners include Prohibition Partners, CannaReporter, RootSource Media, Let’s Talk Hemp and HEMP TODAY JAPAN.

More than 80 companies and organisations are taking part in JIHE 2026: 41 exhibitors and sponsors, 8 supporting organisations, 13 media partners, 9 community partners and the companies and institutions represented by our speakers — some of them in more than one role. Exhibitors are grouped into the CBD Journey

(12) and the HEMP Journey (12): https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/exhibitors.

The line-up is still growing. Further exhibitors, sponsors, partners and speakers are being confirmed, and will be announced in the weeks before the event.

What JIHE offers overseas companies

• Meet Japanese partners. BUSINESS DAY (13 Nov) is for industry professionals, with booths, a business meeting space and the conference, followed by a networking reception from 18:30 (paid, advance registration). COMMUNITY DAY (14 Nov) is open to everyone, with exhibits, product sales and workshops.
• Clear conditions. Overseas exhibitors may show only products that comply with Japanese law; CBD products require a third-party certificate of analysis (COA). Products containing THC may not be brought into Japan or the venue.
• Exhibition and sponsorship enquiries: info@asabis.co.jp

Visiting from abroad

• Hours: Doors open 10:30 both days; closes 22:00 on 13 Nov (including the networking reception) and 18:00 on 14 Nov
• Venue: House of OMOTESANDO, 5-34-8 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan — 6 minutes’ walk from Shibuya Station (Exit B1) and approx. 10 minutes from Omote-sando Station (Exit B2)
• Admission: Free with advance registration in English at https://luma.com/hpztknzq (the networking reception is paid)
• Language: English and bilingual sessions; AI subtitles; English help at the 1F reception
• Visitor guide (travel, customs): https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/guide
• Visa invitation letters: register for the event first, then request a letter at https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/guide#visa
• Website: https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en Media kit: https://jihe.asabis.co.jp/en/media
• Organised by Asabis / Co-organised by GREEN ZONE JAPAN / Supported by AIHF and others

Media

Journalists are welcome on both days (BUSINESS DAY recommended). Interviews with the organiser, Roger Nakazawa (Representative Director, Asabis Inc.), and, where possible, speakers can be arranged in advance.

About JIHE

JIHE (Japan International Hemp Expo) is Japan’s largest* international hemp and CBD expo and conference. It builds on the CBD Journey and CannaCon events held since 2021, which have welcomed more than 7,000 visitors and over 300 companies in total.

About Asabis Inc.

Asabis Inc. (Tokyo) builds infrastructure for Japan’s hemp and CBD industry, running the industry media and community CBDBU and organising CBD Journey and JIHE. https://www.asabis.co.jp/en