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The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is steadily advancing preparations for the opening of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan by receiving advice on important issues and specialized matters from people with expertise, skills, and experience.
photo by Kanno Kinji
ANDO Tadao was born in Osaka Prefecture. He is self-taught in architecture and established the Tadao Ando Architectural Institute in 1969. His notable works include the Church of Light, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Chichu Art Museum, Nakanoshima Children’s Book Forest, and Brousse de Commerce/Pinault Collection. He received the Architectural Institute of Japan Award in 1979 for Row House in Sumiyoshi, as well as the 1993 Japan Art Academy Prize, the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2005 International Union of Architects (UIA)gold medal, the Japanese Order of Culture in 2010, Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2013, Commander of the French National Order of the Legion of Honor in 2021, and other honors. He has served as a visiting professor at Yale, Columbia, and Harvard Universities, and has been a professor at the University of Tokyo since 1997, where he is currently professor emeritus.
I was born and raised in Osaka. I have been familiar with the sights of Midosuji and Nakanoshima since I was a child, and I have lived my life with pride for this city. The Expo is a great opportunity for people from various countries to gather and share a new vision for the future. I hope that people from all over the world will take advantage of this opportunity for cultural exchange to learn about the culture of Kansai and Osaka and its attractions.
The theme of the Expo is “Designing a Future Society for Our Lives.” I sincerely hope that Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will serve as a venue for Osaka to present to the world the answers to the questions of what it means to live a truly fulfilling life in the age of 100 year lifespans, what we can do for society, and above all, what new hopes and possibilities for the future we can show the next generation.
IKENOBO Senko was born in Kyoto Prefecture. She is the next Iemoto (headmaster designate) of Ikenobo Ikebana, a school of flower arrangement that established its philosophy in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and reveres its founder Ono Imoko. She is the deputy chief priest of Shiunzan Chofo-ji Temple (Rokkakudo) in Kyoto and is involved in a variety of activities based on the spirit of Ikenobo Ikebana, which is to make the most of life. Since 2012, she has made pilgrimages to 33 temples in western Japan to offer flowers to the spirits of those who have lost their lives in disasters and to pray for the happiness and peace of people. Currently, she is a Deputy Chairperson (Executive Board Member) of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, Co-Chair of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Event Review Committee, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Iceland.
This world is full of life.
In Japan, there has been an aesthetic and philosophy of life since ancient times. In the 16th century, IKENOBO Sen’o taught that “even withered flowers have brilliance.” This expresses respect and empathy for all life, and a desire to live together and create the world.
In today’s chaotic society, we hope that Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will serve as an opportunity to help Japan overcome its problems and build a sustainable society, and we will do our best to ensure that the lives of all living things will shine brightly.
phot by ENZAKI TOMOHIRO
OSAKI Hiroshi joined Yoshimoto Kogyo K.K. (currently Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings Co., Ltd.) in 1978, became President and Representative Director in 2009, became Chairman and Representative Director in 2019, and retired as Director in June 2023.
In March 2009, he became chairman of the executive committee of the “Okinawa International Movie Festival Executive Committee”., In 2014, he launched the Kyoto International Movie Festival and became a member of the “Kyoto International Movie Festival Executive Committee” in October of the same year. In February 2018, he became a member of the “Council for Realizing Exciting Local Lives,” of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Town, People, and Work Creation Headquarters. In June 2019, he was appointed as a member of the Cabinet Office’s “Round-Table Conference on the Future of the Former Base Site.”
He was appointed as a member of the Advisory Council for the Management of Tottori University Hospital in September 2021, appointed as a visiting professor at Kindai University in April 2022, and awarded the “Zenkoren Japan Advertising Award, Shoriki Award” in March 2023.
In May 2023, he was appointed Vice Chair of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Event Review Committee.
Currently, he has established “mother ha.ha” , and serves as its representative director.
Japan is a country dealing with advanced social issues.
Let’s make a global debut at the Expo to address these issues and concerns of children and young people. It will be a long and difficult road.
So have fun and make it a festival.
KATSURA Bunshi (stage name) was born in Osaka Prefecture. In 1966, while a student at Kansai University, he was introduced to KATSURA Kobunshi (the late KATSURA Bunshi V). In 1967 he appeared on a late-night radio show, and in 1969 he was chosen to host a television program and since then has been a regular on numerous programs. In 1981, he launched Rakugo Genzaiha, a group that regularly presents “new Rakugo” and has released over 330 works to date. He has received the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Arts Festival Grand Prize twice, as well as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize, among other awards. He became president of the Kamigata Rakugo Association in 2003 and was instrumental in the construction of the Tenma Tenjin Hanjotei, a venue for Kamigata Rakugo. In the fall of 2006, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal of Honorand in 2007 he received the Kikuchi Kan Prize. In 2012, he took on the stage name “KATSURA Bunshi VI” after his master “KATSURA Bunshi V”. In 2015, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, and in the same summer, he was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “longest-running talk show hosted by a single presenter.”In July 2017, in commemoration of his 50th anniversary in show business, he climbed Mt Fuji and performed a dedication rakugo at the summit.
In March 2018, he started “Sanchi Chokusho Matsuri,” a creative rakugo project in the 24 wards of Osaka City. On March 4, 2020, he presented his 300th work “Happy Angel” at the audience-less Namba Grand Kagetsu. He debuted his new rakugo show “Yumemiru Ninin Kai” in 2021, and “Asunaro no Kai” in 2022. On July 16, 2023, he celebrated his 80th birthday and held “Katsura Bunshi’s 80th anniversary Memorial Rakugo Performance” at various locations. Currently, he is making further progress toward his goal of completing 500 original Rakugo pieces.
I was 27 years old at the time of the Japan World Exposition Osaka 1970.
I was among the hosts of the national broadcasting team.
It is like a dream come true to be able to welcome another World Expo in Osaka, and I am extremely moved and excited about it.
I would love to tell the whole country about the Expo.
Nothing makes me happier than being able to hold it twice.
The Expo is a treasure chest filled with the wisdom of the world.
I would love to share this excitement with everyone.
©LESLIE KEE
KAWASE Naomi is a filmmaker based in Nara, where she was born and raised. Her consistent pursuit of “reality” has taken her beyond the realm of documentary fiction, and she has won numerous awards at film festivals around the world, including the Cannes Film Festival. While expanding her field of activities around the world, she also established the “Nara International Film Festival” in 2010 in her hometown of Nara and has been focusing on fostering the next generation of filmmakers. Currently, she is also a theme producer for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In addition to directing films, she also directs commercials, writes essays, and is a mother of one who enjoys growing vegetables and rice.
I don’t remember the buzz of the Expo ‘70. The only memory I have is a picture of me waddling in front of the Tower of the Sun with a curious look on my face. How has “progress and harmony of mankind” progressed over the past 55 years, as symbolized by the positive red sun on the front and the black sun on the back, to this day? Soon we will celebrate Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan as a destination or milestone on our journey. The momentum that will go beyond the passion of those days is not yet in sight. The “People’s Living Lab; A laboratory for a future society” awaits the day when it will be a festival that our children 50 to 100 years from now can feel proud of.
Robert CAMPBELL was born in New York City. He is a scholar of Japanese literature, a specially appointed professor at Waseda University, an advisor to the International Literature Center (Haruki Murakami Library) at Waseda University and former director of the National Institute of Japanese Literature. He specializes in early modern and modern Japanese literature, with particular interest in 19th century (late Edo to early Meiji period) Chinese literature and related literary genres, arts, media, and thought. He is active in a variety of media, serving as an MC and news commentator on television, writing serialized articles for newspapers and magazines, reviewing books, and planning and appearing on radio programs. Currently, he is also an executive board member of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.
I was in the 6th grade of elementary school when the first Osaka World Expo was held in 1970. Five years earlier the Expo had been held in New York and I still had vivid memories of the Expo that I had experienced in my hometown. When I saw the words “Osaka Expo 1970”, I didn’t really have a strong image of “Japan” but it made me excited. Many goods related to the Expo were imported from Japan and were very popular among children, but my favorite was a miniature version of a time capsule. On the stand of a small jar was written in Japanese, A sphere to be opened 5,000 years from now.” I diligently wrote a message to mankind in the distant future, put it in the capsule, and buried it deep in the ground in a nearby park.
When I hear the word “exposition,” I think of the future. Naturally, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us living in the present in our respective places to build a future that hopes for lasting prosperity along with peace. I couldn’t go to Expo ’70, even if I wanted to, but now I am a senior advisor at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and am standing in a place to think about and propose “a future society for our lives” from various angles. I am grateful for this. I hope that Japan’s sensibility and technology, which have been built up over the course of history, will interact with the world and be reborn in countless capsules for the future I can’t wait to visit the venue and see the sparkle in the children’s eyes.
KOSHINO Junko was born in Osaka Prefecture. At 19, while studying design at Bunka Fashion College, she was the youngest person to win the SO-EN Award, the gateway to success for new fashion designers. Based in Tokyo, Junko participated in Paris Fashion Week from 1978 to 2000, and held fashion shows in Beijing in 1985, New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art) in 1990, Vietnam in 1994, Cuba in 1996, Poland in 1999, Myanmar in 2009, Spain in 2018, and other places in the world. She created the uniforms for three pavilions at the Japan World Exposition Osaka 1970 (Seikatsu Sangyo Pavilion, Pepsi Pavilion, and Takara Beautillion). She is currently serving as a member of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Event Review Committee.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is the Expo of the Seas. Being exposed to the world exposition is a great experience.
It is an encounter with countries, people, architecture, products, food, and events. Every event in every direction will surely lead to great development in the future.
GONOKAMI Makoto was born in Tokyo Prefecture and is a specialist in quantum photon physics. He graduated from the Department of Physics at the University of Tokyo in 1980. He served as an assistant at the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Science, a lecturer, associate professor, and professor at the University of Tokyo’s Department of Physics, and as a professor and dean of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Science. He advocated for a new model of university management, calling for “a university that drives social change.” He has been in his current position since 2022.
The concept that Japan presented to the world at Expo ’70 was a “standard mass-production modern society,” according to SAKAIYA Taichi (author and economist). Industrial innovations that provided large quantities of high-quality, low-cost products through automation and quality control propelled Japan into becoming an economic superpower. Half a century later, science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds, and the cyberspace created has mingled with physical space, transforming our daily lives and society. At the same time, we must not forget that the actions of humanity, which has gained great power, are expanding global threats, such as global warming and international conflicts.
The theme of this year’s Expo, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” is a precious opportunity to reexamine life, to recognize the diversity of all living things, and to revive a spirit of compassion. In order to protect our precious earth, we must tirelessly and unceasingly create new wisdom, foster empathy, and take action. This will be the glorious growth of humankind.
Oussouby SACKO was born in the Republic of Mali. Upon graduating from high school, he received a government scholarship to study in China. After studying at Beijing Language and Culture University and Southeast University of Nanjing, he came to Japan in 1991. In 1999, In 1999, he completed his doctoral studies in architecture at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He specializes in spatial anthropology and has conducted research on the relationship between society and architecture from various perspectives, including the revitalization of machiya townhouses in Kyoto and community revitalization. He is multilingual, speaking Bambara, English, French, Chinese, and Kansai dialect. After serving as a faculty member and dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Kyoto Seika University, he served as President of Kyoto Seika University from April 2018 to March 2022. Currently, he also serves as Vice President (Director) and Director of Overseas Communications for the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition.
This event is very significant because it brings together people from all over the world to share global issues and try to find solutions. When African countries, including the Republic of Mali, where I am from, began to participate in the Expo, the prevailing attitude towards them was condescending and represented them as undeveloped areas and colonies, etc., against their own will. The human zoo is still remembered as an example. In recent years, the Expo’s themes and representations have changed. Expos have become places to explore how different regions, countries, and organizations are tackling global issues, and how partnerships can be formed in the process. Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, Japan will be the last stage to consider the SDGs and beyond (Beyong). I believe that this Expo is a chance for the world, which has experienced a pandemic, to suggest a new international stage. Personally, I think this will be the legacy of the Expo, with the youth of the world taking the lead in seeking their own future while creating a net. I hope that the Expo will be a place where we want to enjoy every day to the fullest!
SEN Soshitsu was born in Kyoto Prefecture. He was ordained as a Buddhist clergyman by Zen master NAKAMURA Sojun, chief abbot and master at the monks’ training hall of Daitokuji temple and received from him the Buddhist name “Zabosai.” In 2002, he became the 16th Iemoto of Urasenke, one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony, and assumed the name “Soshitsu” as the head of the Konnichian estate. He currently serves as Vice President of the Kyoto Convention & Visitors Bureau, President of the Kameoka Foundation for Lifelong Learning, and Director of the Inamori Foundation, as well as a member of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Event Review Committee.
Unlike the Japan World Exposition Osaka 1970, the distance between Japan and the world seems to have grown much closer over the past half century.
However, this is an illusion.
As you can see if you open a map, the distances between countries around the world remain the same.
As we rely increasingly on the convenience of the Internet, we tend to assume that we know everything, and in this carelessness, we tend to forget to respect other countries. I only hope that this Expo, which will be held amidst a variety of opinions, will be an opportunity for us to realize this.
NISHIO Shojiro is a Doctor of Engineering who was born in Gifu Prefecture. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1975 and completed his doctorate at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University in 1980. After working as an assistant at the Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, and as a visiting research associate at the University of Waterloo, Canada, he became a professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Osaka University in 1992. He later served as Director of the Cybermedia Center at Osaka University, Science Officer at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Dean of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at Osaka University, and Director and Vice President of the same, before being appointed to his current position in August 2015. He has also served as President of the Information Processing Society of Japan and President of the Japanese Database Society.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, also known as the “SDGs Expo,” is an ideal opportunity to return to the basics of “life,” to spread the message of “leave no one behind” to the world, and to create a movement to realize a “future society for our lives”. To this end, we must engage in global dialogue that transcends the boundaries between industry, government, academia, and the private sector, as well as national, ethnic, cultural, and religious differences, to envision a future society, share ideas and actions for its realization, and provide guidelines for the future. Osaka University, together with the Kansai Economic Federation, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives, has launched the “Inochi Council” and will issue an “Inochi Declaration” at the Expo, with a view to achieving the SDGs and the beyond. In order to create such a movement, it is important that the next generation, including students and young people, actively participate and take the lead. As a senior advisor, I will actively contribute to the co-creation of a future society together with various stakeholders in society so that Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will be a turning point in history as a place to create a soft legacy that will continue beyond 2025.
Born in Niigata Prefecture, MIYATA Ryohei graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1972 with a major in metal forging. He is a member of the Japan Art Academy and a Person of Cultural Merit. He has participated in numerous art exhibitions in Japan and abroad with works such as the “Springen” series featuring a dolphin motif. He received the Grand Prize of the Minister of Education Award, the Prime Minister’s Prize at the Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition, the Special Prize and the Prime Minister’s Prize at the Nitten Exhibition, and the Japan Art Academy Prize in 2012. After serving as professor and dean of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he became president of the university in 2005 and served two terms of 10 years in the university’s management, and was appointed Commissioner for Cultural Affairs in April 2016, taking the helm of Japan’s cultural administration. He is currently a professor emeritus and advisor to Tokyo University of the Arts, a counselor to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and a visiting professor at Nagaoka Institute of Design, as well as a member of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Event Review Committee.
The theme Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” It is a place where people from all over the world can exchange ideas and “co-create” a future society. I believe that the most important and fundamental element of the Expo is “health”. And within that “health” there must be “mental health”. For “co-creation” between people, we must maintain a healthy mind. In other words, we must be healthy both mentally and physically. I believe that a healthy society is the result of healthy minds and bodies. The world is now in a very uncertain situation. It is in times like these that we must create a world of “NATUREVERSE” in order to fulfill the significant theme of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan! What is “NATUREVERSE”? It is a world where people’s well-being is achieved. In other words, it is the realization of “physical health,” “mental health,” and “social health”.
I believe that these three types of health will be a great source of strength to live through tomorrow and make the Expo a success.
YAMAGIWA Juichi was born in Tokyo Prefecture. He is a primatologist and a leading researcher on gorillas. He graduated from the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, and received a Ph.D. After working at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, he served as the 26th President of Kyoto University from 2014 to 2020. He is engaged in social ecological research on wild Japanese monkeys in Yakushima and wild gorillas in various parts of Africa. He has served as President of the Primate Society of Japan, President of the International Primate Society, President of the Science Council of Japan, and a member of the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation.
The theme of “Designing Future Society for our Lives” is a message that marks a major shift in our orientation toward development based on science and technology, on which we have relied heavily since the Japan World Exposition Osaka 1970. The biosphere, where life exists, is only 19 kilometers of the Earth’s surface, which has a radius of approximately 6,400 kilometers, but it has maintained a stable environment of the atmosphere, oceans, and land by receiving energy from the sun. The harmony of these environments has been greatly disrupted by human activities in recent years, resulting in the loss of many lives. In order to rethink this situation, we must envision a future that respects non-human life and coexists with many other forms of life, not only through the logic of science, but also by utilizing the ideas of art. I hope that this Expo will serve as a turning point in this direction.
YOSHIDA Kenji was born in Kyoto Prefecture. He graduated from the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University in 1980, and completed his doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Letters in 1989. After working as an assistant at the Faculty of Letters, Osaka University, he began working at the National Museum of Ethnology in 1988 and was appointed Director of the National Museum of Ethnology in 2017. In 2019, he became President of the Society for Ethnoarts and Culture. He specializes in anthropological research on African art and ritual and the representation of culture in museums and art galleries. While continuing his fieldwork on masks, rituals, and possession beliefs in Africa and elsewhere, he also researches how culture is represented in museums and art galleries and develops exhibition activities in Japan and abroad that reflect the findings of this work.
As we seem to have reached a turning point in civilization, new divisions are emerging in the world.
This is why the role of World Expositions, where people from all over the world gather in one place for six months, transcending differences in language and culture, to share experiences and deepen mutual understanding, seems more needed than ever before.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will be the first World Expo since the Corona pandemic that humanity experienced, and will on “life” under the theme of “Designing Future Society for our Lives.”
If the people of the world can gather here in Osaka, reflect on the importance of life from their own perspectives, experience the tremors of life, and envision together how life should be in the future, this will be the greatest legacy of this Expo. I look forward to seeing you all at the Expo.