The Tokyo International Projection Mapping Award Executive Committee is pleased to announce that TOKYO LIGHTS 2026, a creative festival of light that illuminates Tokyo’s nights, will be held from Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31, 2026. The event will take place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building, Citizens’ Plaza, and across the Nishi-Shinjuku area, including Shinjuku Chuo Park.
Since its launch in 2021, TOKYO LIGHTS has presented a unique fusion of projection mapping, light art, entertainment, and technology. The festival brings together creators from Japan and around the world to transform Tokyo’s urban spaces into an open stage for creativity and visual expression. In 2026, the event will return with the internationally recognized 1minute Projection Mapping Competition, an immersive Light Art Park, and a Grand Finale celebrating award-winning works and live stage programming.
The Committee also announces that actor Tao Tsuchiya has been appointed official ambassador for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026. Widely supported across generations and known for taking on new creative challenges, Ms. Tsuchiya will help promote the event and will appear at the Grand Finale on Sunday, May 31, 2026.
Born in Tokyo in 1995, Tao Tsuchiya made her film debut in Tokyo Sonata in 2008 and rose to national prominence after appearing as the heroine of NHK’s morning drama series Mare in 2015. She has since built a wide-ranging career in film, television, stage, and animation, with more than 37 starring works as of 2026. Her achievements include 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.
In addition to acting, Ms. Tsuchiya has expanded her creative activities into scriptwriting, planning, directing, and music. She has also incorporated projection mapping into a staged reading of her original script, making her appointment especially meaningful for a festival that connects performance, visual technology, and public art.
A major highlight of TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 will be Light Art Park, which will transform Shinjuku Chuo Park into an immersive outdoor environment of light art for a limited period. 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 explore the concept of “invisible Tokyo” through light.
The program is organized around the broader concept of VISIBLE TOKYO, which seeks to reveal elements of the city that are usually unseen, such as memories, emotions, nature, human presence, and connections between people and urban space. The five themes are Visible CITY, Visible NATURE, Visible HEART, Visible CONNECTION, and Visible IMAGINATION. Through these themes, visitors will encounter installations that express Tokyo’s traffic, data, natural rhythms, emotional traces, and participatory imagination.
Among the featured works is GAIA by Luke Jerram, a monumental Earth installation measuring seven meters in diameter. Created using high-resolution NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, the work offers visitors an immersive experience similar to viewing the planet from space. The installation will make its Japan debut at TOKYO LIGHTS 2026.
Another featured work is Embrace by Beamhacker, a participatory installation combining light, mirrors, and human interaction. Visitors are invited to hold hands with human-shaped silhouettes arranged around the piece. As they connect, ripples of light spread outward in a chain reaction, allowing the installation to grow more dynamic through communication and cooperation.
The program will also include a new installation by Yoichi Ochiai titled Liquid Universe: Sōbō Chūfu — An Unclassifiable Entomologia of the Luminous Swarm. Created for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026, the work brings together different forms of light found in nature and the city, including fireflies, bioluminescent organisms, and LEDs, within a four-meter pillar of light. Through imagery continuously generated by computational nature, the installation invites visitors to reconsider the boundary between the natural and the artificial.
Other highlights include Visible TOWER, a tower-shaped installation that visualizes the memories and everyday activities of people moving through the city as “memories of light.” During the day, it reflects the surrounding landscape and visitors like a mirror. At night, AI-generated collages of city memories appear on an LED display. Visitors can also walk through the sculpture and experience these memories at close range.
Light Art Park will also present INTER-WORLD/Cocooner: Apparent motion of celestial bodies, a legacy work from Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The experiential installation evokes cycles of nature through a soft sculptural form that amplifies natural phenomena created by the interaction of air, water, and sunlight. Visitors are invited to step inside and experience changing light from within.
Additional works include Seeds of Light — Egg of Hope, first exhibited at Burning Man in Nevada; Photosynthesis, in which FLIGHTGRAF depicts the breathing cycle of plants; and TOKYO Hyakka Ryōran, which likens Tokyo’s individuality to a giant blooming flower. The event will also present works by emerging artists and students selected through an open call, supporting the next generation of creators working in light-based expression.
The 1minute Projection Mapping Competition will also return as one of the central programs of TOKYO LIGHTS 2026. Originating in Japan in 2012, the competition is one of the world’s most established international projection mapping contests. Each year, creators compete with works ranging from one minute to one minute and fifty-nine seconds, offering audiences the opportunity to experience a wide range of highly accomplished visual works in one place.
For 2026, the competition invited entries under the theme “Dialogue.” A total of 412 entries were received from 65 countries and regions. Finalists selected from these entries will compete for the Grand Prix.
Jury members and invited artists include Ouchhh, a Turkey-based digital media artist and global creative new media studio known for data-driven expression at the intersection of art and technology, and Kentaro Tanaka, winner of 1minute Projection Mapping 2024. The International Competition Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Tetsuya Bessho and Aki Shibuya, creating a bilingual program in Japanese and English.
Advance registration is required for the 1minute Projection Mapping Competition viewing area due to venue capacity limits. Registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and admission is free. Sessions will be held on May 23, May 24, May 30, and May 31 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 Citizens’ Plaza. The Awards Ceremony will take place on May 30, followed by the Grand Finale on May 31.
Event Overview
Event: TOKYO LIGHTS 2026
Dates: May 23–31, 2026
Venues: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1, Tokyo Citizens’ Plaza, and Shinjuku Chuo Park
Organizer: Projection Mapping International Award TOKYO Executive Committee
Co-host: Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Official Website: https://tokyolights.jp
Registration Website: https://cloud-pass.jp/get/tokyolights2026
Inquiries: TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 Call Center, +81-3-6706-7972, weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.