TEDx is the spin-off from the US-based TED conference that allows individuals to set up their own TED-style events. It has proved massively popular and to date, there have been more than 100,000 TEDx talks in 150 countries. The first TEDxTokyo took place in 2009 and was the first outside of the US.

As a founding partner, Eat managed the branding for the Tokyo event from 2009 to 2014 as a pro-bono project.

A Japanese TEDx event has its own unique personality and presents its own set of challenges. For a country still in many ways domestically focused, with an emphasis on ‘the team’ rather than the individual, the concept of a TED talk is somewhat of an anathema. There is however a growing realisation that Japan needs to raise its voice internationally and there is a new generation of entrepreneur willing to do that. TEDxTokyo became a forum where these conversations could take place.