Tokyo, October 2025
Matteo Belfiore, founder and principal of MB-AA Matteo Belfiore Architect and Associates, has established IDJ – Italian Design Japan, a non-profit association created to promote Italian architecture, design and creative culture in Japan.
Founded in 2025, IDJ brings together Italian architects, designers, graphic designers, artists and creative professionals active in Japan, with the aim of creating a platform for dialogue, collaboration and cultural exchange between Italy and Japan.
The association was born from Matteo Belfiore’s long-standing commitment to strengthening the presence of Italian design culture in Japan through architectural practice, curatorial projects, public events, exhibitions, lectures and institutional collaborations. After more than fifteen years of professional and academic activity in Tokyo, IDJ represents a natural extension of this trajectory: not a single event, but a permanent community dedicated to connecting people, ideas and institutions.
Through IDJ, Italian design is understood not only as a heritage to be celebrated, but as a living culture of project, research and innovation. The association aims to support professionals already active in Japan, create new opportunities for collaboration, and encourage a broader understanding of Italian creativity within the Japanese cultural and professional context.
IDJ acts as a bridge between individual practitioners, companies, institutions and cultural organizations, fostering initiatives that highlight the diversity and contemporary relevance of Italian design. Its activities include public talks, masterclasses, networking events, professional presentations and collaborative projects involving the Italian and Japanese design communities.
The foundation of IDJ also reflects MB-AA’s broader vision: architecture and design as tools of cultural mediation. Since its establishment in Tokyo in 2017, MB-AA has consistently worked at the intersection of Italian design culture and Japanese spatial sensibility, developing projects, exhibitions and interiors that explore flexibility, identity and cultural sustainability.
With IDJ, this approach expands beyond the scale of the architectural project to become a collective platform: a space where Italian professionals in Japan can be represented, connected and made visible.
As founder and president of the association, Matteo Belfiore will lead IDJ’s activities with the goal of building a strong, inclusive and internationally oriented network capable of contributing to the dialogue between Italy and Japan through design.
Official website: www.idj.jp
Social links: linktr.ee/idj2025
