The iGEM Ambassador to Asia and Oceania, Rei Abe, presented on the topic "The genesis of a community in Synthetic Biology in Japan" talking about how synthetic biology is beneficial to the planet as a whole, how the recognition of synthetic biology in Japan is delaying compared to other developed countries, and possible solutions to tackle the problems, referring iGEM as an example of accelerating technology adoption in the country.

Rei introduced iGEM to an audience of 300 participants as a possible way to solve the problem Japan is now facing, increasing the number of students who are interested and have experimental skills in synthetic biology.

After the presentation Rei connected with officers of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to discuss the potential of supporting students in synthetic biology. During the poster session, she explained what synthetic biology is, what iGEM is and introduced projects of each iGEM team in Japan.