Entries are now open for AUTOMOBILE COUNCIL 2027, Japan's annual heritage-car show and marketplace at Makuhari Messe.
AUTOMOBILE COUNCIL 2027 dates and venue
According to WEB CARTOP and CAR CARE PLUS, the 12th edition will run from April 9 through 11, 2027, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. The exhibitor entry window opened September 1, 2026 and closes November 30. For the first time, exhibitor applications are being accepted online, with the organizing committee responding to applicants roughly a month after submission. The official site confirms that web-based entry for 2027 is underway, though it does not yet carry the 2027 dates or venue on its front page.
The 2026 edition, held at the same venue in April, drew roughly 40,000 visitors across three days according to those same reports.
Who can apply to exhibit
Two categories are being solicited. The first covers heritage-car dealers displaying vehicles generally built at least 25 years ago and offered for sale. The second is the event's "Marché," a marketplace for die-cast models, automotive books, period parts documentation, apparel and collectibles.
For U.S. buyers, that dealer section is the part worth watching, because the 25-year figure is a familiar one. It is worth being precise about what it is and is not: the show's criterion is an exhibiting rule set by its organizers, not an import rule. Whether any individual car can be brought into the United States depends on its exact build date and on federal requirements that are assessed per vehicle, not on the show's cutoff. Once the final exhibitor list is published, the stands should still offer a useful look at cars approaching or past that threshold in the Japanese market.
Nothing has been published yet about general admission tickets for 2027 — no on-sale date, no pricing — and the information released so far does not say whether overseas businesses are eligible to apply. Travelers can tentatively plan around the reported April 9–11 dates, but should confirm the schedule with the organizer before booking.