Osaka Kansai EXPO 2025 opened on April 13 2025. It is expected to be a great opportunity for Japanese people to turn their eyes to the world again and for the tourism industry to boost demands for both outbound and inbound travels. 

What is significance of the World EXPO?

The World EXPO is an international festival for human knowledge for a variety of countries and regions to display and deliver the technological, cultural or social future visions, which originally began in London in 1851. The role has changed with the times. 

The EXPO, approved by Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), is organized once in five years. The Osaka Kansai EXPO is the third expo in Japan, following Osaka EXPO in 1970 and Aichi EXPO in 2005. With the main theme of ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives,’ the Osaka Kansai EXPO is participated by about 160 countries, regions and international organizations to provide ‘dialog opportunities’ for their respective social challenges, strengths and values. 

The biggest feature is that it is a place for the most participant countries and regions ever introduce themselves in one venue. It is true that any information can be collected online today, but it is also true that people who search Saint Christopher and Nevis or Sao Tome and Principe online without any reasons are limited. 

写真：トラベルボイス編集部

A place to know the today’s world

Even in countries that seem far removed from Japan, there may be trade relations for familiar food ingredients, and even in countries where not a single Japanese person lives, there may be a culture that we are vaguely familiar with. You can discover something new only when you walk around in the venue. In this sense, ‘Common Pavilion’ exhibited by small countries together may represent significance of the EXPO. 

The countries’ or regions’ pavilions are not just places to introduce tourism attractions or their specialty products. You can find knowledge you have to know, such as medical technologies in Belgium, many manufacturing patents in Italy or development of smartphone games in Poland. 

On the other hand, what you can see in the EXPO is not ‘light’ only. Taiwan exhibits not as a region but as a private company ‘World Tech,’ and the pavilions of countries in war, such as Israel and Palestine, or those used to fight each other, such as Serbia and Kosovo, are located remotely. 

Russia withdrew from the EXPO, while Ukraine opens its booth, where real lives of Ukraine people are shown on video when you read the barcodes on the tag attached on daily necessities. All of them are not known on domestic news. 

Visitors recognize that the world is never peace, but many ‘shadows’ still exist. 

写真：トラベルボイス編集部

A chance to experience the world for only a couple of days

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only 16.8% of the Japanese population will have a valid passport as of the end of 2024. The number of passports issued annually has also decreased by more than 30% compared to 20 years ago. This is a significantly low level among developed countries where people can travel freely. Student travel and study abroad has halved compared to before COVID-19. The reduction in young people's overseas experiences may have a negative impact on subsequent cultural and business exchanges, which will be a major negative for Japan's future.

The World Expo is a valuable opportunity to provide an opportunity for exchange for people who are interested in overseas countries but cannot go, and to raise interest in the world among people who have never been interested in overseas countries.

As overseas exhibitions are basically staffed by local staff and staff who can interpret, so you can try to communicate in the local language.

The overseas pavilions are not just places to provide information but to convey messages that they want visitors to know about their countries or regions more. The true value of the EXPO is that visitors possibly open their hearts and minds to the cultures of other countries or regions. 

If visitors are more interested in other countries or regions in the EXPO, it will encourage them to study or work globally, which no doubt contribute to evolution of Japanese economy and culture in the future. Also, the EXPO will be an opportunity for Japanese people to deepen understandings to foreigners and for business operators to update their services in receiving international visitors to Japan