The first visitors to Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai arrived on the 155-hectare site on Yumeshima Island this morning following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony. The opening of the World Expo marks the beginning of six months of global exchange and dialogue centered around the theme “Designing future society for our lives.”
Japan’s third World Expo – and the second to be hosted in Osaka after Expo 1970 – was formally inaugurated yesterday during a ceremony attended by Japan’s Imperial Family. The ceremony saw the raising of the flags of Japan and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), a procession of international participants, and an array of music and dance performances.
A total of 159 countries, including Japan, and seven international organisations are participating in Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, with each participant represented by a pavilion crafted to present its unique interpretation of the Expo theme. In addition to the pavilions of international participants, the Expo features domestic pavilions and eight signature pavilions created by eminent producers, each focusing on different themes relating to life.
During the opening ceremony, the BIE Secretary General, Dimitri S. Kerkentzes indicated: “In this beautiful venue, this place of peace and discovery, each nation is invited to shape a future society marked by creativity, partnership, and inclusivity. Over the next six months, Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai will serve as a hub for innovation and collaboration, where ideas that empower lives, protect lives and connect lives become a reality.”
The Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba also addressed the gathering.
“I look forward to the Expo serving as a catalyst for achieving “unity in diversity.” I strongly believe that interactions among visitors from around the world and Japan, inside and outside the symbolic Grand Ring, will be of vital importance towards this goal,” he said.
The Expo site has been conceived as a People’s Living Lab, a venue for demonstrating cutting-edge technologies and presenting the results of co-creation projects that have been in development since Japan was elected host country of the Expo by BIE Member States in 2018. As a Future Society Showcase, the Expo incorporates inclusivity and sustainability while offering a futuristic and immersive experience for visitors in line with the three subthemes: Saving Lives, Connecting Lives and Empowering Lives.
During its six-month run, the Expo will be marked by public events, theme-related activities and National Day celebrations. An opening day concert by Japanese pop start Ado is kicking off the Expo’s cultural calendar, gathering around 10,000 spectators in the Expo Arena. In addition to the vibrant cultural programme, the Expo will be host to seminars, business meetings and community events, and will see in-depth discussions during the eight Theme Weeks aimed at addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Expos, officially known as International Registered Exhibitions, are global gatherings of nations addressing universal challenges of our time. These unparalleled global events offer a journey inside a chosen theme through engaging and immersive activities.
The most recent World Expo, Expo 2020 Dubai, took place under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and received over 24 million visits before concluding on 31 March 2022. Following Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai, the next World Expo will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 1 October 2030 and 31 March 2031, under the theme “Foresight for Tomorrow”.
Japan is a founding member of the BIE. In 1970, Japan hosted Asia’s first World Expo in Osaka, attracting over 64 million visitors, making it the most visited Expo of the twentieth century. Since then, Japan has successfully organised Specialised Expo 1975 Okinawa, Specialised Expo 1985 Tsukuba, Horticultural Expo 1990 Osaka, and World Expo 2005 Aichi. In 2027, Japan will host a Horticultural Expo in Yokohama under the theme “Scenery of the Future for Happiness”.