THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 12, 2025 at 18:28 JST
The official character Myaku-Myaku, lower left, and musicians take part in the April 12 opening ceremony for the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025. (Yoshinori Mizuno)
OSAKA--Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 kicked off April 12 with a spectacular opening ceremony in the presence of Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and 1,300 assorted dignitaries from around the world.
The expo will open to the public from 9 a.m. on April 13 and run for 184 days until Oct. 13.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, honorary chair of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said in an opening speech, “We will transmit a new Japan to the rest of the world.”
In his address, Naruhito reflected on attending the Osaka Expo in 1970 when he was 10 years old.
“I remember well how surprised I was at seeing the latest technology of that time,” he said, before adding that he hoped the children of today will think about the society they want to live on reaching adulthood.
He urged them to deepen “their understanding of the peoples and nations of the world through this expo,” which he said will help them appreciate “how the world is moving toward next-generation technology and achieving sustainable development goals.”
Crown Prince Fumihito, who is honorary head of the Japan Association, placed his right hand over a transparent panel, triggering a musical fanfare and the start of a video of senior high school students in a wind ensemble performing on top of the Grand Ring, the large wooden structure where visitors can walk that is a symbol of the expo.
While this will be the sixth expo in Japan, the Osaka Kansai Expo will be the second after the one in 1970 in which participating foreign nations have constructed their own pavilions.
With the theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” a record 158 nations and regions are taking part. Senior high school students from Osaka Prefecture paraded with flags from those nations during the opening ceremony.
The Japan Association is expecting a total of 28.2 million visitors.
The budget for construction of the expo site is 235 billion yen ($1.6 billion).
Around 40 pavilions are under construction or have been completed for other countries. Domestic companies are in charge of 27 others.
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