Within the framework of the 2005 EU-Japan Year of People-to-People Exchanges and with the cooperation of the people of both countries, approximately 90 events of various kinds focusing on culture were actively held in Hungary. Various exhibitions (Japanese dolls, kites and tops, lacquer objects, ceramics, origami, washi (Japanese paper), ukiyo-e pictures, photographs featuring Japan, among others), performances and demonstration events (tea-ceremony, ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), calligraphy, bunraku (traditional Japanese puppet theater), Okinawan dance, drama, Japanese and Western music, Japanese cinema, budo (Japanese martial arts) and sumo), and lectures and seminars on science, education, tourism, and animation were among the wide range of events that were held. As the first large-scale Year of Exchanges with Japan since Hungary’s accession to the EU, the year 2005 was a year of great significance.

The Japanese Drum Performance by Za Ondekoza in January, an opening event of the Year of Exchanges, "Sho" - the Art of Japanese Writing, a workshop given by an expert in May, the Lecture and Demonstration of Tea-Ceremony given by Urasenke, former Grand Master SEN Genshitsu, and the Demonstration of Ikebana, both held in June, were some of the popular events which succeeded in introducing Japanese traditional culture to the wider public.

In particular, the Bunraku Performance, Exhibition of Ukiyo-e Pictures (Hiroshige, Hokusai) and Contemporary Photos Featuring Mount Fuji, and the Concert of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, which were all held in October, the "Month of Japanese Culture," received wide media coverage thanks to active pre-event publicity and were highly effective from a public relations perspective. The events themselves were also very successful with tickets for the Bunraku Performance being sold out day after day.

Furthermore, various musical performances such as the Concert of Haydn Symphony Orchestra (soloist: Joji Hattori) in May, Mari Kodama and the Sound of Peace with Kagura 2005 in Hungary in July, and the Concert of Guarneri Trio and Naoki Sekino in November, were meaningful events that enhanced musical exchange, not only between Japan and Hungary which boasts a rich culture of music, particularly of classical music, but also among Japan and the nations of Central Europe.