Since 1999 there have been 16 Star Wars Celebration fan conventions. The majority of these events have been in the USA but there have been four in Europe and two in Japan. The first Japanese ones in 2008 was four years before the Disney takeover and also in a limited-digital era of interaction. Times had changed a fair bit by the time it returned to Japan 17 years later. I’m lucky enough to have been at both of them but how did they differ?

Dates: Star Wars Celebration Japan 2008 ran for three days between 19-21 July with the final day being on Marine Day, one of Japan’s national holidays. On the other hand, the 2025 version took place from April 18-20.

Climate: The hot & humid summer played host to the 2008 event whereas last year’s was in the much milder Spring season. It was warm but far from the sweaty summer conditions which are never ideal for some of the cosplayers.

Size: The Makuhari Messe Convention Center venue was used for both conventions, but the 2025 one generally took place in Halls 1-7. However, the Celebration stage was located in the Makuhari Event Hall. Also, the registration and badge pick-up area were in Hall 9. In contrast, 2008’s event primarily used just one hall.

Attendance – The 17,000 total of 2008 was absolutely dwarfed by the 2025 attendance which was six times larger.

Audience: The vast majority of attendees in 2008 were Japanese but 17 years later and things had dramatically changed as it was a far more international affair with over 125 nationalities represented.

Admission– A 3-day pass in 2008 was ¥10,000 (¥5,000 for children) but in 2025 it was ¥23,800 for such a thing. Single-day adult passes were ¥4,000 in 2008 but about ¥8,000 in 2025. A Yoda Premium 3-day pass was ¥22,000 in 2008 whilst a Jedi Master VIP 3-day pass last year was ¥140,000. I only bought my VIP pass a week before the event which you wouldn’t be able to do now as all the tickets sell out quickly.

Stages: There were 3 stages at the original Star Wars Celebration Japan and 9 at the 2025 event.

Panels: It was a first-come-first-served policy in 2008 but last time registration and lottery applications were needed to access certain high-profile panels on the Celebration Main Stage such as ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu‘, ‘Andor: A Star Wars Story‘, ‘Ahsoka‘ and the closing ceremony.

Live Streaming: It was a different era of fandom in 2008 but things have changed a lot since the Disney takeover. Star Wars Celebration has been streamed live online since 2015 meaning that the 2008 went largely unnoticed to many.

Host Anthony Carboni interviews Vanessa Marshall in 2025

Language: One of the most notable differences last year was the main language. Star Wars is generally an English-language production and what all the crew speak so that was all translated into Japanese of course. As an English speaker, the flow of interesting stories and anecdotes was inevitably halted by the need for interpretation every 30 seconds but it really couldn’t be helped though! I think this is one of the reasons there was not another Celebration in Japan for so long afterwards. With the change in demographics in 2025 and the development of AI, Celebration 2025 was principally in English. I really do wonder how the Japanese fans felt about this as their event was kind of overtaken by the foreign attendees.

Merchandise: My memory is a little hazy when it comes to this part of Celebration which is very important to many collectors. Of course, there were many vendors at both but I am referring to the official Celebration merchandise. There was a huge store in 2025 but it was a much more modest size 17 years earlier. Also, local cultural roots were embraced a lot more in 2025 to cater for the international attendees who lapped up the Japanese-style merchandise.

Celebrity Guests: Mark Hamill was the star attraction in 2008. He may have done many Celebrations since but back then he was new to it all and seeing him interviewed on stage was far from the entertaining and polished experience it became in later years. He took a while to get going and give the audience what they wanted but when he did say something funny or interesting it was mostly met by silence. He often talked for too long and didn’t give the interpreter a chance to catch up and share in Japanese.

Other guests included Anthony Daniels, Jeremy Bulloch, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Ray Park, Jake Lloyd and Amy Allen were all present in 2008. Carrie Fisher pulled out before the event started.

The guests in 2025, among others, were Ahmed Best, Ashley Eckstein, Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Manny Jacinto and Rosario Dawson. Anthony Daniels, Daniel Logan and Temuera Morrison were attendees of both events. There were also special guests who appeared on stage for announcements of future projects like Ryan Gosling and Sigourney Weaver.

Autographs & Photos – Photo opportunities didn’t exist at such conventions in 2008 as smartphones and selfies were just not a thing. 15 actors and actresses signed autographs with a range of different prices for each one depending on their star power. Getting Mark Hamill to sign something of yours cost 20,000 yen but in the modern day you can expect to pay nearly double that for either an autograph or a photo opportunity. It was often possible to take a photo together at the table in 2008 if the actor or actress permitted it.

¥3,000 for an autograph, a photo & a chat!

Theme & Content: Despite everything else going on, Celebration is still a promotional event and in 2008 ‘The Clone Wars‘ movie was on the horizon and taking the franchise into a new era. It was also being marketed as a 30-year celebration of Star Wars in Japan as the original movie didn’t land in Japan until 1978, one year after the rest of the world. A fair few live action films (such as ‘Star Wars: Starfighter‘) and Disney + series were promoted in 2025.

Vibe: Hard to remember the noughties experience too much but the two events definitely had completely different feelings to them. Although it felt big at the time, the original Celebration Japan did feel like a small-time venue on the back of the 2025 event. Whilst not on the scale of the late 80s/early 90s, Star Wars was fairly dormant in July 2008. However, the Clone Wars announcement did kickstart the animation side of the franchise paving the way for others like ‘Rebels‘ and ‘The Bad Batch‘ to follow.

Other: There was certainly an increase in the likes of vloggers, podcasters, social media, food trucks and SWAG. I’m sure there are a few more things but for now that is all that I can come up with.

Blast Points podcast hosts Jason & Gabe

Final Thoughts: Very few tourists ever really came to Japan in 2008 but these days the country is absolutely flooded by international visitors. It’s far more open to people from overseas and both Star Wars and the Celebration events have grown and grown since the Disney takeover in 2012. Hopefully, the 2025 event proved that it was possible to do an event in Japan and overcome the major language obstacle which is probably why it took so long to return to these shores. Let’s hope it’s not another 17 year wait till Celebration Japan returns!

Click here to read ‘Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 Day 1: Ryan Gosling ‘& Sigourney Weaver Up Close, Animation & 90s Panels, Cuteness Overload, Cosplayers & Meeting A Fan Favourite’

Click here to read ‘Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 Day 2: The Ridiculously Long Wait for Merchandise, A Trio of Entertaining Panels & Meeting Some Fan Community Favourites’

Click here to read ‘Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 Day 3: Exploring the Galaxy Far Away for Real, Free Swag, More Cosplayers & The Vegetable God’s Given the Recognition He Deserves!’

Click here to read ‘Reflecting On 15 Years Since Star Wars Celebration Japan & Looking Ahead to the Next One In 2025!’