Special Supporters

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition has appointed Pokémon as the first Special Supporter for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. In this newly established position, Special Supporters will be cheerleaders for the Expo, where people, groups, and characters who have numerous fans and supporters use their influence to convey the charms and philosophy of the Expo. In the future, we will expand interest in the Expo by having a variety of Special Supporters join the event.
Pokémon is a globally popular character representing Japan. From now on, we will collaborate on various promotional activities for the Expo and share information both domestically and overseas.

QuizKnock is a creative studio that combines entertainment and knowledge, mainly run by IZAWA Takushi, who is the “Quiz King” from the University of Tokyo. With the concept of “Fun in Learning”, QuizKnock provides daily articles and movies that trigger “learning” about something. The number of subscribers to the YouTube channel exceeded 2.11 million. (As of October 2023)

Tall ships, which were active during the Age of Discovery (early 15th century to 17th century), have achieved zero CO² emissions in their motive power without the use of fossil fuels when sailing with wind power. In addition, tall ships themselves were packed with established carbon-neutral technology accumulated over the course of history. MIRAIE is the only tall ship in Japan that is open to the public, allowing everyone to easily get on board and enjoy an on-board experience.

Born on April 22, 1992. Grew up in Yamagata Prefecture. Moved to Tokyo in April 2015 and started working at the “W♡C” clothing shop on Takeshita Street in Harajuku. While working there, Peey had become popular with a charismatic fanbase, especially among teenagers. Currently popular among people of all ages on the YouTube channel “Peey” for being naturally true to themselves and speaking in a genuine and unpretentious way.

Hello Kitty is a popular character of Sanrio Company, Ltd. and will celebrate her 50th anniversary in 2024. The period from November this year to December 31, 2024 is her “50th anniversary year”, and initiatives will be rolled out based on the theme “Friend the Future: Be Friends with the Future.”

The 16-member dance and vocal group was selected through three auditions: the “EXILE PERFORMER BATTLE AUDITION” held in 2014 to determine new EXILE members, the “VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 4”, where young people with dreams of becoming vocalists gathered, and the “GLOBAL JAPAN CHALLENGE”, where the young elite aiming for success on the world stage participated.

A dance and vocal group that carries on the thoughts and beliefs of EXILE. As a new group of EXILE TRIBE, it was established on December 29, 2016 as a group of performers, led by EXILE SEKAI and SATO Daiki.
The vocalists are YAGI Yusei and NAKAJIMA Sota, who won the “EXILE Presents VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 5 – For young people with a dream” from among about 30,000 applicants.
The dance and vocal group has been steadily expanding its activities both as individuals and as a group, and is now attracting attention as it aims for further growth.

They are EXILE TRIBE’s talented seven-member group in which, for the first time in EXILE TRIBE, all members hold microphones and do dance, vocals, and rap. The group moved to Thailand for six months from August 2022 to train and acquire new skills and knowledge that they would not have been able to gain if they had stayed in Japan. “Drop Dead feat. TRINITY” released in February of this year, and “All I Ever Wanted feat. GULF KANAWUT” released in August of this year were two consecutive releases that made the Top 5 on the T-POP chart, Thailand’s main chart for music. It is a “global standard” boy group that is working not only in Japan but also abroad, with an eye toward expanding its activities overseas.

This seven-member group is made up of the elite students of EXPG STUDIO, a dance school run by LDH, whose students come from all over Japan. The goal of the group has been to become global artists who can be accepted in Japan and also around the world.
In August 2022, the group relocated to Thailand for six months to train and gain new skills and knowledge that they would not have been able to gain otherwise if they had stayed in Japan. “FIRE feat. SPRITE” released in September of this year and has been in the Top 5 on the T-POP chart, Thailand’s main chart, for 4 consecutive weeks.

NMB48 is an idol group based in Namba, Osaka, whose general producer is AKIMOTO Yasushi.
NMB48 has been active since October 9, 2010, and holds performances consisting of singing, dancing, and talking almost every day at NMB 48 Theatre in Namba, Osaka.

Born in 1980. Gained attention in 2007 when he appeared in the NHK TV drama series “Chiritotechin” and in the NHK Taiga historical dramas “RYOMADEN”, “Taira no Kiyomori”, “Segodon”, and “The 13 Lords of the Shogun”. Recent major appearances include the “Rurouni Kenshin” movie series, the Academy Award-winning “Godzilla-1.0”, the Korean blockbuster “THE ROUNDUP : NO WAY OUT”, and the Hulu original series “The Decagon House Murders”. “Missing” is scheduled for release on Friday, May 17.

imma, with her distinctive pink bob hairstyle, is the first virtual human in Asia.
Since her debut in 2018, her one-of-a-kind existence, which transcends the line between real and virtual, has caused a stir around the world and has become a popular topic of conversation in more than 8,000 media outlets in 60 countries.
Today, she has grown to become Asia’s leading virtual human, with almost 400,000 followers on Instagram and over 480,000 on TikTok. In 2020, she was named one of the Women of the Year 2020 by Forbes Women, published by Forbes (PL), and appeared at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in 2021.

Kumamon is the mascot character of Kumamoto Prefecture. He made his debut on 12 March 2010 to promote the completion of the Kyushu Shinkansen line. He promotes the attractions of Kumamoto Prefecture not only within Kumamoto Prefecture but also around Japan and the world.

IHARA was born in 1999. She is the former captain of the dance club at Osaka Prefectural Tomioka High School, which came to prominence with its ‘bubbly dance’. In addition to film and theatre roles, she has also appeared in TV dramas including NHK TV series. In April 2024 she starred in the NTV drama ‘The Wife Who Was Deprived of Her Liver (Kanzo wo Ubawareta Tsuma)’ and became a personality on MBS radio’s ‘Young Town’.

HARUNA Ai is a TV personality and singer, born in Osaka. HARUNA Ai gained popularity in 2008 for her lip-syncing ‘Air Aya’ performances and became a regular on TV programmes. In 2009, HARUNA Ai was crowned ‘Miss International Queen 2009’, and in 2010 HARUNA Ai was selected as a charity marathon runner for 24 Hour TV and completed the race. HARUNA Ai was appointed Honorary Ambassador for Tourism in South Korea in 2013 and continues to serve as a bridge between Japan and South Korea. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Opening Ceremony in 2021 HARUNA Ai served as the opening performer, and her new song ‘Maboroshi the World’ was released digitally in July 2023.

YUCHAMI : Born in HIGASHI-OSAKA City, Osaka, 175 cm tall.
She is active as a TV personality, model, and actress.
She started her career as a TV personality in around 2020 and has since appeared on numerous variety shows, gaining support from people of various ages. YUCHAMI also makes numerous appearances in advertisements and various events outside of TV.
YUICHAMI : Born in HIGASHI-OSAKA City, Osaka, 163 cm tall.
She is active as a TV personality, model, and actress.
She appeared in ABEMA’s reality show “Today, I’ve fallen in love with you” from April 2022. Since then, she has gained tremendous support from young people, mainly teenagers, and has become a representative of teenage women in various media.

TAKAHASHI Ran was born in 2001 in Kyoto City. He started playing volleyball in the second year of primary school, and in his third year at Higashiyama High School, he won the Inter-High School runner-up title, the National Athletics Championship, and the Spring High School Volleyball Championship. In 2020, he was selected for the Japan men’s volleyball national team for the first time and also competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021. While he was still a university student in 2021, he played in Italy’s Serie A SuperLega league and has now been playing for Suntory Sunbirds Osaka since 2024.