The Tokyo International Projection Mapping Award Executive Committee is pleased to announce that TOKYO LIGHTS 2026, a creative festival of light illuminating Tokyo’s nights, will be held from Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31, 2026, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building, Citizens’ Plaza and the Nishi-Shinjuku area (including Shinjuku Chuo Park).
The Committee is also pleased to announce that actor Tao Tsuchiya has been appointed official ambassador for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026. In addition, the Committee is unveiling the full lineup of 12 planned works for Light Art Park, the event’s light art program under the artistic direction of Kenji Kohashi. The program will bring together notable works from Japan and abroad, including a new installation by Yoichi Ochiai, the Japan debut of GAIA, and legacy works from Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Viewing Area Advance Registration Now Open via official website!
Official
Ambassador
The Committee is
pleased to announce the appointment of actor Tao Tsuchiya as the official
ambassador for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026. Widely supported across generations and known
for continually taking on new creative challenges, Ms. Tsuchiya will help
promote the event and will also appear at the Grand Finale on Sunday, May 31,
2026.
Comment from Tao
Tsuchiya
“My first encounter
with TOKYO LIGHTS was in 2022. I was deeply moved by the experience, which felt
as though I had traveled into another world, and since then my family and I
have visited every year. It is a great honor to now take on the role of
ambassador. Projection mapping and light art connect people and connect
generations and perhaps may even connect us to the universe. I believe they
hold limitless possibilities. I hope to share this experience with many people
at the venue.”
Profile of Tao
Tsuchiya
Born in Tokyo on
February 3, 1995, Tao Tsuchiya made her film debut in Tokyo Sonata
(2008) and rose to national prominence after being cast as the heroine of NHK’s morning drama series Mare
(2015). Since then, she has built a wide-ranging career across film,
television, stage, and animation, with more than 37 starring works as of 2026. Recognized
for her solid acting ability, she has received the Newcomer of the Year Award
at the 39th Japan Academy Awards, the Award for Excellent Actress in a Leading
Role at the 41st Japan Academy Awards, and the Award for Excellent Actress in a
Supporting Role at the 48th Japan Academy Awards. She is also widely praised
for her dance and action performances, which draw on her strong physical
abilities. In recent years, she has actively taken on new creative challenges
in scriptwriting, planning, directing, and music, and incorporated projection
mapping into a staged reading of her original script. Her upcoming releases
include Matching TRUE LOVE (autumn) and SUKIYAKI Ue o
Muite Aruko (December 25). She is currently appearing in TV Asahi’s Borderless: Wide Area Mobile Investigation Unit.
Five Themes of
VISIBLE TOKYO
Under the concept
of VISIBLE TOKYO, TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 presents five themes through which visitors
can experience the city in light: Visible CITY, Visible NATURE, Visible HEART,
Visible CONNECTION, and Visible IMAGINATION. Through these themes, the event seeks
to visualize the many elements that shape Tokyo—its urban landscape, nature, emotions,
human connections, and creativity—through the shared
language of light.
Visible CITY expresses Tokyo itself through light,
including the flow of the city, traffic, signs of human presence, and data.
Visible NATURE presents installations that evoke the
breath of nature and the subtle movements of life.
Visible HEART features artworks that project emotions,
memories, and lingering traces of feeling as light.
Visible CONNECTION explores interfaces of light linking the
city and nature, and people and the city.
Visible IMAGINATION
offers
participatory and immersive expressions designed to stimulate creativity and
inspiration.
Light Art Park
For a limited
period, Light Art Park will transform Shinjuku Chuo Park into an immersive
environment of light art. Under the artistic direction of Kenji Kohashi, who
has led numerous international events and large-scale festivals including Expo
2025 Osaka, Kansai, artists from Japan and overseas will depict the “invisible Tokyo” through light.
Light Art Park is
organized around four themes—Visible CITY, Visible NATURE, Visible HEART, and Visible CONNECTION.
Throughout the venue, visitors will encounter works that give physical form to
these themes, allowing them to experience the world of VISIBLE TOKYO as they
walk through the park.
Featured 5 Works
GAIA / Visible
HEART / Lawn Area (East) / Luke Jerram / United Kingdom
Courtesy of Light
Art Collection
Making its highly anticipated Japan debut—an immersive experience of viewing Earth from space
Created by Luke
Jerram, known for works that cross artistic disciplines, GAIA is a monumental
Earth installation at seven meters in diameter. Produced using high-resolution
NASA imagery of the Earth’s
surface, the work offers an immersive experience akin to viewing the planet
from space. The installation will make its Japan debut at TOKYO LIGHTS 2026.
Embrace / Visible
CITY / Fun More Time Hiroba / Beamhacker / Australia
Human
connection expands outward as ripples of light
This
participatory installation by Beamhacker, known for interactive works combining
light and mirrors, invites visitors to join hands with the human-shaped
silhouettes arranged around the piece. As they do so, ripples of light spread
outward in a chain reaction, and the installation becomes increasingly dynamic
through communication and cooperation among participants.
Liquid
Universe: Sōbō Chūfu — An Unclassifiable Entomologia of the Luminous Swarm / Visible
CONNECTION / Chobo-no-Mori / Yoichi Ochiai / Japan
A
new installation by Yoichi Ochiai, where the lights of nature and the city intersect.
Created
for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 by Yoichi Ochiai, this new installation brings together
different forms of light found in nature and in the city—such as fireflies,
bioluminescent organisms, and LEDs—within a four-meter
pillar of light. Amid imagery continuously generated by computational nature,
the work invites visitors to reconsider the boundary between the natural and
the artificial.
Visible TOWER / Visible CITY / Fun More Time Hiroba / V_T / Japan
This
tower-shaped installation visualizes the memories and everyday activities of
people passing through the city as “memories of light.” During the
day, it reflects the surrounding urban landscape and its visitors like a
mirror; at night, AI-generated collages of the city’s
memories appear on an LED display. Visitors may also walk through the sculpture
itself and experience these “memories of light” at close range.
INTER-WORLD/Cocooner:
Apparent motion of celestial bodies
/ Visible NATURE / Hana-no-Mori /
Akihito Okunaka / Japan
A
legacy work from Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai that evokes the cycles of nature
This
experiential work was exhibited as an official program of Study: Osaka Kansai
International Art Festival 2025 at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Through a soft
sculptural form that amplifies natural phenomena created by the interaction of
air, water, and sunlight, the work encourages visitors to reflect on how human
beings are connected to the world. Visitors are invited to step inside and
experience being enveloped by cocoons of changing light.
Additional
Works and Open Call Program
In
addition to the featured works above, Light Art Park will include a range of
other installations, including Seeds of Light— Egg of Hope, first exhibited at
Burning Man in the Nevada desert in the United States; Photosynthesis, in which
FLIGHTGRAF, a headliner at one of Europe’s leading light festivals, depicts the breathing cycle
of plants; and TOKYO Hyakka Ryōran, which likens Tokyo’s
individuality to a giant blooming flower. Throughout the venue, visitors will
encounter light-based expressions that resonate with both the city and nature.
As
opportunities to present light art in public spaces in Japan remain limited,
the event has also held an open call and will exhibit works by emerging artists
and students selected through the screening process. Through these efforts,
TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 aims to help foster a new generation of artists and creators
working in light-based expression.
Images are for illustrative purposes only.
1minute Projection Mapping Competition
The 1minute Projection Mapping Competition is
one of the world’s most established and prestigious international projection
mapping competitions, originating in Japan since 2012. Each year, creators
compete for top honors with works running from one minute to one minute
fifty-nine seconds. Bringing together leading creators from around the world as
well as rising young talent, the competition offers a unique opportunity in
Japan to experience a wide range of highly accomplished and distinctive works
in one place.
The competition invited entries under the
theme “Dialogue”. A total of 412 entries were received from 65
countries and regions around the world. Finalists selected from among these
entries will compete for the Grand Prix.
Jury Member and Invited Artist
Ouchhh / Digital Media Artist / Turkey
A global creative new media studio that
develops data-driven expression at the intersection of art and technology.
Guided by the concept of “using data as paint and algorithms as brushes,” the studio creates immersive installations and public art powered
by AI and data in locations around the world. Based in Istanbul, it has
delivered more than 75 international projects and received numerous
international honors, including the Red Dot Design Award.
Kentaro Tanaka / Video Creator / Graphic
Designer (Winner of the previous competition) / Japan
Born in 2000 and raised in Sapporo, he
won 1minute Projection Mapping 2024. He has participated in the Video
Mapping Festival in Amiens, France, as well as an artist residency in
Lille, France. Centering his practice on Cinema 4D, he works across 3DCG
and graphic design, exploring visual expression inspired by subtle moments of
discomfort and dissonance that surface in everyday life.
MCs for the International Competition Awards
Ceremony
For the International Competition Awards
Ceremony, Tetsuya Bessho and Aki Shibuya will serve as MCs.
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2026, led by Mr. Bessho, will be held during the same period as this event, creating a connection between two international visual media festivals. Ms. Shibuya will return as MC for the fifth consecutive year since the 2021 competition, helping create a vibrant bilingual program in both Japanese and English.
Official Website of the 1minute Projection
Mapping Competition:
Advance Registration Information
Please note, however, that for the 1minute Projection Mapping Competition,
attendance in the viewing area will require advance registration on a
first-come, first-served basis due to venue capacity limits.
1minute Projection
Mapping Competition Viewing Area Registration
・Advance Registration Start: Thursday, April 28,
3:00 p.m.
・Venue: Viewing Area, Tokyo Metropolitan
Government Building No.1 – Citizens’ Plaza
・Admission fee: Free
・Registration website:
https://cloud-pass.jp/get/tokyolights2026
Saturday, May 23
Session 1: 7:20 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. (Reception opens at 6:45 p.m.)
Session 2: 8:50 p.m. – 9:40 p.m. (Reception opens at 8:25
p.m.)
Sunday, May 24
Session 1: 7:20 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. (Reception opens at 6:45 p.m.)
Session 2: 8:50 p.m. – 9:40 p.m. (Reception opens at
8:25 p.m.)
Saturday, May 30
Session 1 and Awards Ceremony: 7:20 p.m. – 8:50 p.m. (Reception opens at 6:45
p.m.)
Sunday, May 31
Grand Finale
(Award-Winning Works Screening & Stage Program):
7:20 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. (Reception opens at 6:45 p.m.)
Event Overview: TOKYO LIGHTS 2026
TOKYO LIGHTS is a festival of light born in 2021
that illuminates Tokyo’s nights. Centered on an international projection mapping
competition featuring creators from around the world and experiential
entertainment that fuses light, art, and technology, the event sends a message
of creativity and hope toward the future.
Event Title: TOKYO LIGHTS 2026
Venues:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No.1, Tokyo Citizen’s Plaza
(2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
160-0023)
Shinjuku Chuo Park
(2-11 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)
Dates (scheduled):
Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31, 2026
1minute Projection Mapping Competition
1. Screenings: Saturday, May 23; Sunday, May 24; and Sunday, May 31,
2026
2. Screenings / Awards Ceremony: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Light Art Park
Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31, 2026
Grand Finale
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Organizer:
Projection Mapping International Award TOKYO Executive Committee
Co-host:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Official Website:
Social Media:
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/tokyolights_jp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tokyolights_jp/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokyolights.jp
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tokyolightsjp
Inquiries Regarding Event Details and Tickets
TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 Call Center
TEL: +81-3-6706-7972
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays
only
(excluding weekends and public holidays)
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES
