For many Tokyo commuters, Hamamatsucho is just one of the stations on the Yamanote Line that loops around the central part of the city. And for those travelling to Haneda Airport, the stations serves as the interchange with the Tokyo Monorail, whisking them out of the city and onto their flights.
The area of Hamamatsucho, however, has always been an important business center in Tokyo, one that just happens to be in a green area of parks and temple grounds. In recent years, there’s a whole lot of new development happening in the area.
Just to the west rises the symbolic Tokyo Tower, along with the gates leading up to the expansive Zojo-ji Temple; a new elevated pedestrian deck heads east, leading to the waterfront and water taxis of Takeshiba, as well as the vast Hamarikyu Garden, one of the city’s biggest and most traditional Japanese gardens.
All of which made Hamamatsucho an ideal choice for hosting the PRCP & WACP 2025 Joint Congress, an international meeting combining for the first time the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) and the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry (WACP). The event, held from September 25 to 28, brought together some 1,175 participants representing 55 countries. The PRCP, established in 1980, cites its function as driving research, education, and clinical initiatives in mental health across the Pacific Rim region; the younger WACP, founded in 2006, calls itself “a global hub for cultural psychiatry's study and practice.”
City support a major factor in the location decision
One of the key links between the two groups is Dr. Itsuo Asai MD, a board member for both organizations as well as the Congress Convenor for PRCP & WACP 2025. Because of its Pacific Rim focus, the PRCP’s last two conferences were in Seoul, Korea, in 2021 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2023; WACP’s 6th World Congress was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 2022, following the 2018 Congress in New York and the 2015 Congress in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
“I’m a board member of both PRCP and WACP, and since I recognized that the two societies share common principles and perspectives, I suggested a bigger joint Congress,” he says. Factors such as access from the international airport are important for making the selection of the host city—and with Haneda Airport directly connected, and Narita Airport, the second Tokyo international gateway, accessible with just one transfer at Tokyo Station—Tokyo, Hamamatsucho, was a natural choice. “We did consider other locations around the city,” Dr. Asai says. “But it was the support provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB) that really made the decision for us.
Unique, high-tech local support
The assistance came in many ways. TCVB provided a generous subsidy to offset venue costs and in-kind half-day city tours, while hospitality teams were stationed at the airport and at the venue to assist participants in getting to the right places and provided other information.
“They also provided support for the AI simultaneous translation system used during the symposia,” he says, “as well as the robots which were used during the poster sessions.” These robots could be summoned by the participants for visual translation of the ongoing series of research posters set out daily during the event. “Particularly, the AI simultaneous translation was very valuable to the success of the Convention,” he says.
A special part of the Convention, personally driven by Dr. Asai, was the Heartful Art Festival, a collection of artwork by patients with mental illness, created both as therapy and as a means of expression. These were mounted on both sides of the open, airy pedestrian deck. Each artwork featured the words of the patient‑artists—the meaning behind the piece and their thoughts and feelings during its creation. In turn, the project was intended to make a positive impact on the local community, such as increasing understanding of mental health, promoting diversity and inclusion, increasing interaction and empowering the patients and their families.
Assistance for the Heartful Art Festival was provided by DMO Shiba, Tokyo Bay, the local tourism organization for the area including Hamamatsucho. “They worked with the local government to get permission to hold the event, as well as created information that was displayed on overhead monitors along the promenade,” Dr. Asai says.
The DMO SHIBA, Tokyo Bay also hosted an Ocha (Japanese green tea) Experience during the Convention, offering delicious servings of ocha, in styles intended to provide focus or to help the drinker relax—important benefits of tea known in Japan for centuries, and of interest for psychiatrists as well. The ocha was served in unique small bowls with a pottery-like appearance, but made of highly sustainable and recyclable paper materials.
The TCVB’s focus on providing sustainability to international events was a very important help, Dr. Asai said. “This was our first joint Convention, and I was so busy that their existing programs really helped us.”
Outside experiences an important part of the event
Of course, any international business events gathering such as this involves more than just the meetings held, and with eight different session rooms being used every day during the event, there was plenty for participants to dig into. TCVB arranged a number of the sightseeing and cultural events that really make a meeting memorable (and provided these tours at no extra charge!).
Options for PRCP & WACP 2025 included a Nishi Tama area tour, with a ninja experience, the huge outdoor Rokuya Buddha statue, and brewery tour; a visit to Tokyo Skytree, Japan’s tallest structure, and a walking tour of Asakusa; a tour of nearby Tokyo Tower and the bayside area of Odaiba; a Tokyo river cruise and visit to Hamarikyu Garden; and a chance to try zazen meditation at a Zen Temple.
The last, held at the Korin-in Temple– serene despite its position in the heart of the world’s biggest city –provided a chance not just to clear the mind but also to talk with some participants.
All were very happy with the experience of both the event and being in Japan, with one woman from New Zealand saying it was, “an ideal first experience in Japan!” Another man from the Netherlands added that, “Everything is clean and safe and has been wonderful, but I’m still getting used to such a big city! There’s too much to take in!”
Everyone agreed that the event had been very successful, not least in bringing the PRCP and WACP together for a bigger event with enhanced impact for participants. “We were able to achieve mutual friendship,” Dr. Asai says, “and it’s very important that we achieve this to build even more future cooperation. In that respect, the PRCP & WACP 2025 was a real success, and Tokyo was the very best place to have it.”
For more information on hosting business events in Tokyo, and the support available from TCVB, please see businesseventstokyo.org.