Minister of Economic Affairs Puisto to visit Korea and Japan

Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto will visit the Republic of Korea on 17–19 May and Japan on 19–22 May 2026. The topics on the agenda will include economic security and critical and emerging technologies. In Japan, Puisto will be accompanied by a business delegation from Finland’s quantum sector and other key high technology companies.

Puisto will begin his trip in Seoul. There he will meet representatives of Korea’s science, technology and start-up administration as well as management of Hanwha Aerospace which operates in the aviation, space and defence industry. The meetings aim to promote the access of Finnish companies to the Korean market and to strengthen cooperation in research, industry and investments.

“Korea and Japan are important partners for Finland in Asia, and it is important to increase trade between our countries. Finland’s expertise in quantum technology, semiconductors, secure digital solutions and the space sector has raised an interest abroad, especially in Korea and Japan. These are markets that Finland has plenty of synergies with and that offer more and more opportunities for collaboration,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto.

Team Finland’s Japan visit to focus on quantum technology

In Tokyo, Minister Puisto will meet representatives of the Japanese government, businesses and research organisations. Their discussions will centre on dual-use technologies, security of supply, critical minerals, supply chains of critical technologies and economic security.

Puisto will also meet the management of Japanese companies, including Toyo, Fujitsu and Toshiba. In addition, he will attend the Finland-Japan Business Seminar on Critical Technologies and give a lecture at the University of Tokyo.

Finland and Japan have intensified cooperation in critical technologies in recent years. The countries updated their strategic partnership in June 2025 and issued a joint statement on stronger economic cooperation in February 2026.

The business and research delegation to Japan will include Aalto University Quantum Circuits and Devices Group, Algorithmiq, CoreHW, Detection Technology, CSC - IT Center for Science, Insta, InstituteQ, IQM, Kuva Space, QMill, QuantrolOx, SARA Center, SemiQon, Tampere University, University of Helsinki, Vexlum, XD Solutions and Xiphera.

Inquiries:
Lars Aikala, Special Adviser to the Minister of Economic Affairs, tel. +358 29 504 7330
Simo Välke, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 29 504 7100