WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg announced at the Q&A session of WordCamp Asia 2024 that he would deliver the 2024 State Of The Word from Tokyo, Japan on December 16. This marks a significant moment for the WordPress community, as it’s only the second time the annual address is delivered outside of North America. Last year, the event took place in Madrid, Spain.
The State of the Word is a highly anticipated annual event at which Matt reflects on achievements, unveils his vision for WordPress’s future, and offers a peep into the upcoming features and developments. It’s an occasion for WordPress enthusiasts to come together to watch the event live streaming and celebrate their passion for the platform.
Matt had this to say about choosing Japan for the event: “The very first translation of WordPress, before we even had a framework for translating, was Japanese. It was the moment that opened my eyes to the possibility of WordPress being more than just a blogging tool for a few hobbyists speaking English. Almost 20 years later it’s exciting for Japan to host a State of the Word and really showcase how vibrant their community is. I’m so impressed with all of the books about WordPress there, the market share we have in that country, and the warmth of the events they do throughout the year.”
Japan is home to an amazing WordPress community. The Japanese community was behind one of the first internationalized versions of WordPress – a Japanese WordPress site was set up in December 2003, just six months after WordPress was launched. The version originally called “WordPress ME” (WordPress Multilingual Edition) was maintained by a user called Otsukare who made a multilingual edition hack. His post in the Support Forum led to Matt chiming in, “Well the localization code should be rolled into the main release sometime. (Soonish.)”
The first WordCamp Tokyo was held in 2008, and subsequent editions were serious crowd-pullers. The adorable WordPress mascot, Wapuu originated from the 2009 WordCamp Tokyo after-party. Kazuko Kaneuchi later designed Wapuu as a free gift to the WordPress community in 2011.
Holding the event in Tokyo underscores WordPress’s massive and active user base in Japan and throughout Asia.
Update: Shusei Toda, a Communication Designer based in Tokyo and one of the organizers of WordCamp Asia 2024 is all excited and shared: “We are happy to have the State of the Word coming to our country, marking a monumental moment for the Japanese WordPress community—one of the oldest global communities dedicated to WordPress. It’s an honor to be the second global host city after Madrid, Spain, underscoring our significant position within the global WordPress community. 82.3% of Japanese websites are powered by WordPress, and this event holds immense importance to our local web developers, bloggers, and digital creatives. Hosting the State of the Word in Japan is not just a testament to our community and also in Asia but also a celebration of the pivotal role WordPress plays in our digital landscape.”