Philippines to join World Expo 2025 in Osaka

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will join the 2025 World Expedition or World Expo 2025 in Japan, “promising an immersive experience that will celebrate Filipino craftsmanship,” declared the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The World Expo 2025 to be held in Osaka will host a Philippine pavilion with the theme “’Nature, Culture & Community, Woven Together for a Better Future,’ or simply just ‘Woven,’” said DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco in a statement yesterday.

The façade of the Philippine pavilion would feature “212 handwoven textiles from the largest collaboration of weavers in one project,” with “each piece tell(ing) a unique story reflecting each community’s rich heritage, tradition and art,” according to the DOT.

“The Philippine pavilion celebrates our nation’s rich diversity and interconnectedness, drawing inspiration from our indigenous weaving traditions,” the statement added.

“Indigenous renewable materials” would be used for the construction of the Philippine Pavilion that is expected to open in April 2025.

Frasco said the DOT and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) “are collaborating with our local government units across all of our regions, and engaging the expertise and design talents of the private sector and our communities across the country” for the design of the Philippine pavilion.

“At the TPB, community-based tourism is a priority agenda for us not only to give that unique Philippine experience to every traveler, but also to empower local communities all over the country,” said TPB chief operating office Margarita Nograles.

Frasco, Nograles, Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano, 2025 World Exposition commissioner general Ambassador Koji Haneda, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition secretary general Hiroyuki Ishige and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama unveiled the Philippine pavilion at the The Garden Oriental Osaka on July 25.

Frasco hopes the Philippine pavilion “would entice more tourists and investments to the Philippines, create more economic opportunities and propel the continued prosperity of the Filipino people.”

The DOT said the pavilion structure and the exhibits may be displayed at the National Museum after the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

In 2023, Japan was the Philippines’ third top source of foreign tourists, with 305,580 travelers based on country of residence and 302,082 based on nationality.