Exclusive Sagamihara Event: Hayabusa & Robot Week Celebrates Innovation
Sagamihara, Japan — The city of Sagamihara will host its annual Hayabusa & Robot Week starting May 20, 2026, marking the first major public event in the prefecture to explicitly combine robotics innovation with the legacy of JAXA’s Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission, according to official confirmation from the city’s tourism bureau.
The event, running through May 26, features a series of workshops, exhibitions, and live demonstrations centered on robotics engineering and space exploration. Among the confirmed highlights is a hands-on session where attendees can assemble and program small-scale robotic prototypes, with guidance from engineers affiliated with the Japan Robot Association (JARA). The city has also partnered with local universities, including Keio University’s Robotics Research Center, to provide technical oversight for the workshops.
In a statement released through PR TIMES, Sagamihara’s mayor, Hiroshi Tanaka, emphasized the event’s dual focus: “This year’s theme bridges our city’s contributions to space science with the next frontier of domestic robotics. The Hayabusa2 mission was a testament to Japanese precision engineering, and now we’re applying that same rigor to solving challenges here on Earth.” The mayor’s office did not disclose attendance projections but noted that last year’s related robotics fair drew over 12,000 participants.
Technical sessions will include a live demonstration of a collaborative robot (cobot) system developed by Fanuc Corporation, which will showcase adaptive manufacturing techniques for small businesses. Separately, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) will present findings from its ongoing research into soft robotics for disaster response—a direct application of technologies influenced by the Hayabusa2 mission’s autonomous navigation systems.
Concurrently, the Sagamihara Space & Robotics Museum will open a temporary exhibit featuring artifacts from the Hayabusa2 project, including a replica of the spacecraft’s sample-collection mechanism. Curators have confirmed that the display will include interactive elements allowing visitors to simulate asteroid surface operations using augmented reality.
The event’s programming aligns with broader regional efforts to position Kanagawa Prefecture as a hub for robotics innovation. In March 2026, the prefectural government announced a ¥50 billion fund to support startups in the sector, with Sagamihara designated as a pilot zone for public-private collaboration. However, organizers stressed that Hayabusa & Robot Week remains focused on grassroots engagement, with no commercial sponsorships attached to the workshops.
While the event’s organizers have not released a full schedule, preliminary details indicate that May 22 will feature a panel discussion with engineers from JAXA and Toyota Motor Corporation on the intersection of space exploration and automotive robotics. The discussion will be streamed live, though in-person attendance is capped at 300 participants due to venue constraints.
No major disruptions are anticipated, though local meteorological services have issued a yellow alert for possible afternoon showers on May 24, which may affect outdoor demonstrations. The city’s emergency management division has coordinated with event staff to relocate activities to indoor facilities if necessary.
Further details, including registration links for workshops, will be published on the official Sagamihara City Tourism Portal in the coming days. The event concludes with a public robotics competition on May 26, where teams will compete to solve a simulated disaster-response scenario using pre-assembled robotic kits.