OPC Japan exhibited at IIFES2025, held at Tokyo Big Sight for three days from Wednesday, November 19th to Friday, November 21st, 2025. IIFES was created in 2019 through the merger of the System Control Fair (SCF), Japan’s leading comprehensive automation exhibition, and Measurement & Control Tokyo, one of Japan’s largest specialized exhibitions for measurement and control.
This year’s event attracted 45,324 visitors, an increase of approximately 3,000 from the previous event (January 2024) of 42,484, resulting in a successful conclusion.
At the OPC Japan booth, we exhibited a panel focused on the global OPC Foundation, which is expanding its business under the theme “Combining Manufacturing and Management through OPC UA and the Cloud,” and 133 visitors attended.
Additionally, the Ethernet-APL booth featured a collaborative exhibit from four standards-setting organizations: FieldComm Group, ODVA, OPC Foundation, and PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI). The Ethernet-APL booth was located next to OPC Japan, creating a powerful synergy among visitors and further highlighting the importance of open, vendor-neutral industrial communications.
The exhibit focused on three sub-themes:
OPC UA Field eXchange (UAFX): Smartly Connecting Information from Every Manufacturing Site
A panel display of an OPC UA FX-compatible prototype demonstrated field-level interconnectivity and real-time communication technology. By utilizing Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology, real-time performance is guaranteed, achieving high-precision, low-latency communications. The exhibit also showcased advanced security features compliant with IEC 62443 and the adoption of a Pub/Sub communication method. This promotes a seamless transition to IoT and smart factories, while also facilitating communication between devices from different manufacturers.
Many young engineers gathered at a panel featuring an OPC UA FX-compatible prototype to learn about Field eXchange (FX), engage in in-depth discussions with OPC Japan members, and ask insightful questions about the next evolution of industrial interoperability.
OPC UA Cloud eXchange (UACX): Smartly Connecting the Manufacturing Site and Management
We introduced the OPC Foundation’s Cloud Initiative and proposed a new form of information sharing between the manufacturing site and management using OPC UA.
We also introduced the activities of the Unified Architecture Core Working Group and the Industrial Metaverse Working Group, as well as the current status of collaborations with other organizations, including the Digital Twin Consortium, Catena-X, and the International Data Spaces Association.
He also introduced the cloud architecture components shown in the Cloud Reference Architecture, which are available as commercial solutions and open source products from major providers such as AWS, ABB, Beckhoff, Google, Honeywell, Huawei, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, Rockwell Automation, SAP, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Yokogawa Electric.
Attendees were particularly interested to learn that major cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Huawei, Microsoft, and SAP, have reached a common milestone of maintaining OPC UA information models in the cloud.
OPC Japan Subcommittee Activities
The Technical Subcommittee introduced the OPC IOP Workshop Japan as a means of technical exchange and awareness-raising regarding OPC U A. In addition, as one of the activities for sharing technical knowledge, they introduced a test environment construction procedure manual. While OPC UA is a useful technology, many people find it difficult to adopt, making it challenging to lower the barrier to adoption. Therefore, the Technical Subcommittee is currently developing environment construction procedures to enable more people to utilize it. There are procedures for building the system using only a PC and procedures for building it using vendor products, and specific examples are provided, which is expected to lower the barrier to entry for adopting OPC UA.
The Marketing Subcommittee introduced user opinion exchange meetings and success stories as part of its activities to promote a common understanding and awareness of the value of OPC. User opinion exchange meetings are held from time to time with end users of OPC Japan member companies, with the goal of further promoting and disseminating OPC technology. These meetings are a valuable opportunity for those considering adopting OPC UA and those already using it to share their challenges and questions and exchange opinions directly with OPC Japan members. To date, opinion exchange meetings have been held with users from a variety of fields, including automotive companies, food companies, cosmetics companies, injection molding machine manufacturers, temperature controller manufacturers, image processing equipment manufacturers, and machinery manufacturers’ associations, and these meetings have served as an opportunity to stimulate interaction between different industries.
Future Outlook
At this exhibition, there were many questions about the progress of OPC UA FX and TSN, as well as the vendors’ response, demonstrating high expectations for next-generation field networks. Many visitors also sought information on OPC UA and related technologies and products. Many questions also addressed trends at other companies and in other industries, suggesting a broadening range of industries to which OPC UA is applied and the occupations of those working with OPC UA.
We will effectively utilize the feedback received through IIFES 2025 to further strengthen OPC UA promotion activities in the Japanese market and further develop cloud integration through OPC UA FX and UA CX.
OPC Japan will hold OPC Day Japan 2025 online for two days, December 11th and 12th. The latest information will be available in Japanese. We hope you will participate.
Event Overview
Title: OPC Day Japan 2025
“A New Era of Standardization in Japanese Manufacturing with OPC UA”
Dates:
- Thursday, December 11, 2025, 14:00–17:00
- Friday, December 12, 2025, 14:00–17:00
(Please note: Day 1 and Day 2 will feature different content.)
Format: Online streaming
Organizer: OPC Foundation Japan
Participation: Free (Open to both OPC members and non-members)
Capacity: 1,000 participants
Registration: Please register via the official website.
https://jp.opcfoundation.org/activities-in-japan/events/event-details/
Official Website
You are welcome to join only the sessions that interest you.
We look forward to your participation!