By Poppy Philbrook
Expo Reporter
OSAKA, Japan — Canadian and Japanese students were brought together at Expo 2025 to brainstorm as entrepreneurs and explore how one of Japan’s oldest traditions — making sake —could spawn new business lines using by-products of the sake brewing process.
But equally important, for the students from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and Chiba University, was a week-long opportunity to connect and explore “regeneration,’’ one of the key themes of the Canada Pavilion at this year’s Expo.
“The theme of the Canada pavilion is 再生 (saisei), regeneration, régénération, and this event is a fabulous illustration of how we have mined, and continue to mine, the best of the past to inspire and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Laurie Peters, the Canadian diplomat who is the Commissioner General of Canada’s presence here.
“It’s just delightful to see this regeneration in action,” said Peters.
The exchange brought together students from Chiba University, located in Chiba, near Tokyo, and students from the TMU-based business incubator, DMZ. Students from both schools and all levels of business experience tried their hand at entrepreneurship at Expo, the large-scale international event that Peters considers the “Olympics of diplomacy.”
The Global Entrepreneurship Exchange was a first for both institutions, following the recent opening of the Japan extension of DMZ in February, and the 千葉大学アントレプレナーシップセンター (Chiba University Entrepreneurship Center), which opened just two months ago on April 1. Professors from both schools emphasized the importance of practice within entrepreneurship education and talked about the value of cultivating safe spaces for young entrepreneurs to explore.
“Practice is a very important point of the entrepreneurship centre,” Daisuke Katagiri, Chiba University professor and founder of the entrepreneurship centre, said during a panel discussion.
“When I was a young entrepreneur, over 25 years ago, there was no safe field for the practice [of entrepreneurship] in Japan,” Katagiri continued. “I want to give them [students of the center] a lot of good practice places.”
And the Canada Pavilion at Expo 2025 ended up being that chosen practice space.
Regeneration permeated all aspects of this exchange, going beyond the pavilion walls. Tasked with repurposing 酒粕 (sake kasu), or “sake lees,” a byproduct of the alcoholic beverage’s production, teams composed of two TMU and two Chiba University students started their collaborative efforts at a sake brewery, learning about the drink’s unique fermentation process and cultural significance.
From there, students designed sake kasu-based products, everything from onsen-inspired wellness boxes to filling protein bars. And the students sought input from Expo attendees in an effort to understand the wants and needs of potential consumers.
The final session on June 1 was spent with students sharing their findings, culminating in the presentation of the “Aha! Moment Award.” Notably, the award didn’t go to the team with the most polished solution or business plan, but to the team that learned the most through their experiences.
Alexandra “Alex” Myszkowski, a 5th-year Marketing Management student at TMU, was on the winning team. She designed a face mask product that took advantage of sake kasu’s chemical makeup. Her largest takeaway from this experience? Connection and broadened horizons.
“I’ve made so many new friends,” Myszkowski said. “The Expo definitely provided a great space for us to work collaboratively because I never would’ve had the chance or ‘safe space’ to do entrepreneurship, absolutely not, as a foreigner in Japan without this.”
Myszkowski is set to graduate next month and had her eyes on completing a Master’s degree in Europe following a semester abroad in Sweden. This exchange, however, has opened new doors.
“I’m graduating in less than a month, and I wanted to do a Master’s abroad. I was considering going to Europe, but after visiting Japan, I’m going to look more into coming here and studying entrepreneurship,” Myszkowski said.
“I’ve made so many new friends. The Expo definitely provided a great space for us to work collaboratively.”
— Alex Myszkowski, TMU student
Teammate and TMU peer, Sam Saysanasy, echoed Myszkowski’s takeaways of friendship. “TMU is a commuter school, you don’t see many people outside of your bubble. Everyone here… we’re all in different years, but we’re on the same playing field.”
Presentation of the Aha! Moment Award – Alexandra Myszkowski and Sam Saysanasy stand side-by-side on stage right.
Canada’s presence at Expos of the past has centred around building youth-to-youth connections, Peters has said. This year is no different, with this Canada Pavilion event serving as a conduit for DMZ’s Global Entrepreneurship Exchange.
“Business has no borders,” Katagiri told students, who said their teamwork showed them that there are no borders around learning or lifelong friendships.