The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), an intergovernmental body headquartered in Yokohama, signed an official participation contract for GREEN×EXPO 2027 on 12 March 2026. The contract is with the GREEN×EXPO Association, which announced it on 16 March. According to the Association, this is the first official participation contract it has signed with an international organization. ITTO plans an exhibit themed on tropical forests. Other participants are covered in our participating countries feature.
Basics
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes basic data pages for countries, not for international organizations like ITTO, so the details below come from ITTO’s official site unless noted otherwise.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) |
| Established | 1986; marks its 40th anniversary in 2026 (per the Association’s press release) |
| Governing agreement | The International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (confirmed on ITTO’s site, which also links to the earlier 1994 agreement) |
| Headquarters | 5th floor, International Organizations Center, Pacifico Yokohama (1-1-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi ward, Yokohama, 220-0012); based there since the center opened in 1991 |
| Members | 37 timber-producing countries and 15 consuming members, including the European Union representing 27 countries |
| Role | An intergovernmental organization promoting sustainable management and use of tropical forests, and the expansion and diversification of trade in legally and sustainably managed tropical timber |
ITTO’s site states that its members account for roughly 90% of the world’s tropical timber trade and more than 80% of the world’s tropical forests. The founding year is not spelled out on ITTO’s own site as far as we could confirm; that detail comes from the Association’s press release. The headquarters address, the year it moved in, the membership count and ITTO’s role are all confirmed on ITTO’s official site.
Official information on the exhibit
The signing ceremony took place at 2pm on Thursday 12 March 2026, at ITTO’s headquarters in Nishi ward, Yokohama. Three people signed: Sheam Satkuru, ITTO’s Executive Director and Commissioner General of the exhibition area for ITTO; Masato Kawamura, Secretary General of the GREEN×EXPO Association; and Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Japan’s Commissioner General for the 2027 International Horticultural Expo.
According to the Association, ITTO’s plans for GREEN×EXPO 2027 have four parts:
- An exhibit themed on “the coexistence of tropical forests and humanity,” recreating a lush tropical environment
- An international conference bringing in young people to share knowledge and perspectives on environmental and social issues facing tropical forests
- Workshops aimed at deepening understanding of tropical forests
- Activities communicating the contribution of tropical forests to Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
As of September 2026, the specific exhibit content, its location within the venue, and the exhibit schedule have not been announced.
Tropical timber and Yokohama
ITTO’s headquarters sits on the fifth floor of the International Organizations Center inside Pacifico Yokohama, and the organization has been based there since the center opened in 1991, according to ITTO’s own site.
ITTO and the City of Yokohama have a long relationship. ITTO’s site says that in 2018, the City of Yokohama gave ITTO a deck built from responsibly sourced tropical hardwood. That deck has since been used for fireworks-viewing events during the Minato Mirai Smart Festival in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, more than 80 guests were invited to ITTO’s headquarters for the occasion, including officials from the Japanese government and the City of Yokohama, foreign missions in Japan, and representatives of companies and NGOs.
Since 2023, ITTO has given lectures several times a year at schools, including Yokohama Science Frontier High School, and to City of Yokohama staff. Topics include the importance of tropical forests, sustainable forest management, and forest biodiversity in urban life. At Yokohama Science Frontier High School, 54 students attended in March 2025, and 49 students in total attended two sessions in March 2026.
On 9 April 2026, twelve Yokohama residents, including members of a local women’s group, visited ITTO’s headquarters for a briefing from staff on forest-management projects in Togo and Malaysia. The visit also touched on ITTO’s participation in GREEN×EXPO 2027, its environmental education work with local schools, and its regular collaboration with City of Yokohama policymakers.
According to ITTO’s site, Kazuhiko Koshikawa (Commissioner General for the 2027 International Horticultural Expo and Ambassador for GREEN×EXPO 2027) visited ITTO’s headquarters on 3 July 2025, before the formal signing with the Association, and confirmed ITTO’s intention to take part.
Our take
As the only international organization headquartered in Yokohama, ITTO is likely to be an unusual participant at the venue. Most participating countries present their own culture and industries, while ITTO’s subject, the sustainable use of tropical forests, is not tied to any one country. We expect a strongly educational exhibit as a result. Its participation also follows decades of ties to Yokohama, which sets it apart from countries exhibiting for the first time. Specific exhibit content has not been announced yet, but our GREEN×EXPO 2027 page covers the dates, how to get there and tickets.