Konnichiwa from Tokyo! 🇯🇵
In June 2025, something remarkable happened: the global cloud native community gathered in Tokyo for the first-ever KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan, hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) under the Linux Foundation. This wasn’t just another tech conference—it was a proud milestone for Japan’s growing open source and cloud native ecosystem.
🌏 A Landmark Gathering: KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Comes to Japan
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan 2025 marked the first time the CNCF’s flagship event was held on Japanese soil—bringing together a full house of 1,500 attendees from across Japan and around the world. Hosted at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, the event featured over 40 sessions covering the full spectrum of cloud native technologies, ranging from beginner-friendly topics and observability to AI/ML, platform engineering, connectivity, and security.
The two days were packed with innovation, collaboration, and connection. Developers, maintainers, end users, and technologists of all stripes came together to share lessons learned, explore emerging trends, and dive deep into the future of open source infrastructure.
In addition to technical talks, the conference emphasized community building—celebrating contributors, spotlighting regional efforts, and encouraging diverse perspectives. For many Japanese attendees, it was a rare opportunity to engage with the global cloud native ecosystem right at home. For international guests, it was a chance to experience Japan’s fast-growing tech culture firsthand.
🇯🇵 CNCJ and Japan Community Day
While CNCF and the Linux Foundation brought usual professionalism to organizing KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan, we at Cloud Native Community Japan (CNCJ) were proud to support the local community layer—bridging global expertise with Japanese voices and initiatives.
One of our most successful contributions was organizing Japan Community Day, held on June 15, just ahead of the main conference. This CNCJ-led event gathered local contributors, meetup organizers, and engineers from across Japan and from overseas. It was a relaxed, community-driven gathering where we shared ideas, highlighted CNCF projects with strong Japanese contributions—such as Keycloak and containerd—and reflected on the remarkable progress of Japan’s cloud native ecosystem.
We were thrilled to see a full house, with both seasoned contributors and first-time attendees connecting face-to-face. Talks ranged from Kubernetes operations at scale to how to get started with open source contributions—many delivered in Japanese, by Japanese developers.
A standout moment was the keynote by Tim Hockin, “Existential Risks to Kubernetes,” which took a thoughtful look at how the very success of Kubernetes over the past decade could be threatened if the community doesn’t stay focused on usability, simplicity, and evolving needs. It was both a reflection and a call to action for the future.
Another special moment was the Kubestronaut Recognition Ceremony, part of CNCF’s ongoing initiative to support emerging contributors. This year, 63 new Kubestronauts from Japan earned their certifications—and we proudly celebrated them with official jackets, group photos, and a warm welcome into the global contributor community. For CNCJ, it marked both a proud achievement and a sign of the growing cloud native talent base in Japan.
Session Highlights at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan 2025
At KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan 2025, many sessions showcased the latest trends and practical use cases in cloud native technologies. Key themes that featured prominently across the conference included:
- Graduation path of KubeEdge as a mature CNCF project supporting AI and edge deployments
- Digital transformation efforts leveraging Kubernetes
- The evolution of service meshes and their operational best practices
- Practical insights on migrating and optimizing container orchestration environments
- Sustainable infrastructure design and management
- The critical role of strong local communities in contributing to and influencing upstream projects
These topics collectively highlighted the importance of innovation, adaptability, and collaboration in supporting the cloud native ecosystem. The event fostered lively discussions and knowledge sharing, reflecting the strong enthusiasm and engagement within the community.
Not only focused on technical discussions, the event celebrated the vibrant community spirit at the core of the cloud native ecosystem. CyberAgent shared a compelling case study on continuous innovation in cloud native platforms driving competitive advantage, while sessions on open source research strategies—including AI infrastructure and reinforcement learning—highlighted the close ties between technology and community. A memorable panel on the “Spirit of Wa” emphasized uniquely Japanese cultural values—harmony, respect, and collaboration—that foster trust and long-term partnerships within open source communities. Additionally, talks on “towards desired state” approaches reflected how the community is evolving to manage complexity and enhance system reliability. Together, these themes inspired attendees to build not only better technology but stronger connections across global and local boundaries.
The conference also featured a diverse lineup of sessions exploring the latest innovations and challenges in the cloud native space. Highlights included deep dives into dynamic provisioning for Kubernetes storage, practical security and observability techniques using eBPF, and the latest developments in container runtimes like containerd. Other standout talks covered Kubernetes batch scheduling for large-scale AI/ML workloads, cloud native networking, and service mesh evolution—featuring a live demo of seamless service mesh without a sidecar that showcased new simplicity in complex deployments.
Community-driven discussions and meetups further emphasized collaboration and sustainability, with maintainers sharing insights on project governance and AI’s growing role in open source contributions. This blend of technical depth and community focus reinforced Japan’s active role within the global cloud native ecosystem.
Overall, these sessions energized attendees with actionable knowledge and inspiration to keep innovating and building together in the cloud native world.
Other Highlights
Booth and Project Pavilion:
A bustling hub filled with eager attendees and lively conversations between company representatives and community members. Especially for the project pavilion,visitors connected directly with project maintainers and contributors, exploring new CNCF initiatives through hands-on demos and engaging discussions.
Group Discussion:
Community gatherings such as the Women in Tech meetup and Maintainer Meetup created valuable opportunities for building connections, offering support, and sparking collaboration.
Local Flavor:
Attendees enjoyed delicious Japanese bento lunches while taking in stunning views of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba, and stopped by to say hi to the iconic Gundam statue near the venue—blending technology and culture into a truly memorable experience.
🌱 A Boost for the Ecosystem
The success of KubeCon+CloudNativeCon Japan 2025 signals strong momentum in Japan’s cloud native scene. CNCJ is a volunteer-run, grassroots community focused on connecting people, and we’re proud to have played a meaningful role in welcoming the global community to Tokyo.
We’re grateful to CNCF staff, local sponsors, and every attendee who joined us with curiosity and openness.
🏮 Arigatou—and See You at the Next One!
Energized by this success, CNCJ will continue hosting meetups, workshops, and contribution sessions as we look forward to KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 in Yokohama. Whether you’re new to open source or deep into CNCF projects, we’d love to welcome you at an upcoming event.
As the lanterns dim and lanyards come off, we leave inspired and recharged, ready to build an even stronger community.
Until then—stay curious, stay connected, and stay cloud native.