Declaration Forum of Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan announced the “Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Declaration” on 13 October 2025, the closing day of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (hereinafter referred to as “the Expo”), to share the outcomes of the Expo widely with the world.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Declaration
For 184 days, participants and exhibitors from around the world gathered in Osaka, Kansai, Japan for a World Expo, under the theme “Designing Future Society for Out Lives”, welcoming over 28 million visitors in total.
Overcoming various constraints and challenges, from the construction of pavilions and preparation of exhibits to daily operation during the event, stakeholders maintained close collaboration and continually improved their offerings, successfully bringing the Expo to its completion. At a time when the international community faces divers challenges and growing uncertainty about the future, the 165 official participants and the host country celebrated each other’s National Days and Special Days, powerfully expressing their unique cultures and agendas. They and the visitors from around the world co-created the Expo, conveying the message “unity in diversity” as embodied in the Grand Ring.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan brought together people from across the globe, fostering human, in person interaction – including serendipitous encounters – in this post-Covid era. In an age of division, the Expo connected different cultures in a single space, creating a captivating, out-of-the-ordinary experience where new diplomatic, business, academic and cultural exchanges took place. It reaffirmed the pertinence of the Expo as a global public good that brings about mutual understanding and dialogue and serve as a catalyst for change. Notably, local communities, businesses, students, non-profit organizations and academic and cultural institutions from the official participants and the host country actively engaged with each other and visitors in and out of the venue, dealing with common challenges and giving rise to new initiatives. Such dialogue and collaboration offer a valuable model for future Expos and international exchanges.
The venue was laid out with the ecosystem Forest of Tranquility in the centre, surrounded by the Signature Pavilions, official participants’ pavilions and those by the domestic participants. The displays and events in these pavilions did not just showcase their countries and businesses, but also presented their own interpretations of the question posted by the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. In the pavilions, featuring experimental designs made feasible because of the World Expo’s limited six-month duration, exhibits made recourse to art, play and other forms of expression to provide the young and children with opportunities to learn and reflect on their roles in shaping the future. The pavilions also provided a wide range of sensory experiences, including dance, music and cuisine, some avant-garde and others rooted in indigenous cultural traditions, leaving lasting emotional impressions both to the staff and visitors.
At the same time, discussion forums centred around the eight Theme Weeks, culminating in the SDGs+Beyond Week, brought together a wide range of stakeholders. International and domestic experts, government and business representatives and visitors engaged in multi-faced discussions on topics ranging from fundamental inquiries into the nature of life to visions of sustainable future lifestyles. Active and inclusive dialogue was conducted, delving on questions such as the nature of society that allows all forms of life to flourish and how to pass on the diversity of life to subsequent generations.
The day-to-day activities of the pavilions and the operation and infrastructure of the Expo itself also contributed in their own ways. Many of them were designed to showcase ways to address contemporary issues such as the circular economy, life science /healthcare and diversity/inclusion, while incorporating features from the fear future through digital technology, mobility and AI/robotics. For example, effective use of data from the reservation system was made to assist in the safe and smooth operation of the Expo, and reuse plans for pavilions and Expo facilities such as the Grand Ring have been tangible expressions of the circular economy put into practice. We hope that these efforts serve as an inspiration for all those involved to deal with the aforementioned issues facing the world.
At Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, participants and visitors engaged in dialogue and co-creation and saw their culture resonate with each other, united in diversity in bringing forth their messages towards the future society for our lives. Through this declaration, we express our hope that these discussions and practices will be carried forward to upcoming Expos and contribute to efforts around the world in designing out future society.
(Reference)
– “Declaration Forum of Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan” Outline
・Date and Time: Monday 13 October 2025 10:30-11:30
・Venue : EXPO National Day Hall “Ray Garden”
・Program
1. Opening Remarks, Greetings from the Japanese Government, Greetings from the Osaka Prefectural Government
＜Speakers＞
・Chairperson of Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition: TOKURA Masakazu
・Minister for the World Expo 2025: ITO Yoshitaka
・Governor of Osaka Prefecture: YOSHIMURA Hirofumi
2. Panel Discussion
＜Moderator＞
・Expo Site Operation Producer: ISHIKAWA Masaru
＜Panellists＞
・Expo Site Design Producer: FUJIMOTO Sou
・Commissioner General of the Angola Pavilion: Albina Faria de Assis Pereira AFRICANO
・Commissioner General of the Canada Pavilion: Laurie PETERS
・Commissioner General of the Jamaica Pavilion: Maureen SMITH
・Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier President and CEO of Cartier Japan: MIYACHI Jun
・Chair, Inochi Forum Council（Former President, The University of Osaka: NISHIO Shojiro
・Representative Director of the Shape New World Initiative: SAKUMA Hiroshi
3. Presentation of the Declaration to the United Nations and the BIE, Closing Remarks
＜Speakers＞
・Assistant Secretary-General and Commissioner General of the United Nations at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan: Maher NASSER
・Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE): Dimitri KERKENTZES
– Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Declaration (See attached files below)
・Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Declaration (English)
・Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Declaration (Japanese)