Refugee Week Tokyo – Taste, Share, and Connect

Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. It was founded in London in 1998 and takes place every year around World Refugee Day on June 20.

Over the course of the week, events celebrate the cultures and stories of people with refugee and migrant backgrounds through art, performance, and storytelling. Refugee Week has been held in 17 countries worldwide—and in 2025, it will be held in Japan for the first time!

From June 16–22, 2025, events will be held across Japan—including in Tokyo, Saitama, Yamaguchi, Gunma, and Kanagawa—focusing on themes of migration and refugees.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/refugeeweekjapan/

Tokyo is home to a particularly large and diverse international community. Among its neighborhoods, Shibuya is known for its vibrant mix of cultures and people.

At FabCafe Tokyo in Shibuya, we will host a “meal-sharing” event where participants can experience the home-cooked dishes of people with roots in other countries, and learn about their cultures and daily lives.

This time, participants with roots in places like Hong Kong and Ukraine will share homemade dishes from their homelands. While enjoying the food, attendees will hear personal stories and cultural insights directly from the chefs, with plenty of time for open, casual conversation.

Let this be a space where new perspectives and unknown worlds are discovered—through the simple act of sharing a meal.

In the second half of the event, we’ll host a talk session featuring Refugee Week Japan organizers Tomo Ikegami and Eric Siu, who will share more about the ideas behind Refugee Week and introduce its global context.

11:00–13:00     “Let’s Eat & Talk!” Multicultural Brunch

13:00–14:00     “What is Refugee Week?”: Afternoon Talk Session

14:00–14:30     Photo Session by Photohoku (Optional)

14:30–15:00     Community Meetup

Date & Time: Sunday, June 22, 2025, 11:00–15:00 (doors open at 10:45)

Venue: FabCafe Tokyo (1F) & FabCafe MTRL (2F), Dogenzaka Pia, 1-22-7 Dogenzaka, Shibuya

Hosts: Tomo Ikegami (Curator), Eric Siu (Artist)

Support: FabCafe Tokyo

Participation Fee: Paid (reservation via Peatix required)

Capacity: Around 25 participants

Tomo Ikegami, Curator, Associate Researcher at Counterpoints Arts
Tomo has worked on various projects as a curator and program coordinator, focusing on education and community engagement, at institutions such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Ishikawa), Arts Maebashi (Gunma), and Sendai Mediatheque (Miyagi).
Since March 2024, under the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Overseas Study Program for Upcoming Artists, she has been conducting research at Counterpoints Arts in London, UK, focusing on art projects that support migrants and refugees in the UK. She returned to Japan in 2025 and is working on launching Refugee Week Japan.

Eric Siu, Artist, Creative Director for Great Works Tokyo
Eric is a media artist from Hong Kong whose work spans interactive art, kinetic sculpture, and installation. Currently based in Tokyo, he also serves as the Creative Director of Great Works Tokyo. His work has been featured in prominent international exhibitions such as Ars Electronica (Austria), MOCA Taipei (Taiwan), and ZKM (Germany). In 2013, he was awarded the Grand Prix at the 15th WRO International Media Art Biennale in Poland. In recent years, Eric has been actively exploring Hong Kong identity and culture.