Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan starts in April

With 2025 finally upon us, I want to first wish everyone “Akemashite Omedetou,” or a prosperous New Year, on this joyous day. Having experienced such cheerful warmth on my first New Year celebration in the Philippines, I see this as a promising sign for our countries’ vibrant relations this year.

In welcoming bolder opportunities, New Year’s resolutions have been a time-honored part of these celebrations. While the longevity of these festive promises has often varied, they remain popular symbols for resolve and self-betterment.

Getting into the New Year spirit, I have a few resolutions of my own this year, which I wish to share: one of them is to “make more time to write” and the other is “to bring our two cultures closer.” With the first goal off to a good start, I believe I have just the idea to start my next resolution off on the right foot.

Held every few years, the World Expo is a grand event showcasing the progress of civilization and future prospects through a collection of pavilions designed by individual participants. Japan is the proud host of this year’s iteration and is expecting millions upon millions of guests from all over the world.

With the Japan National Tourism Organization logging a 37 percent growth rate in Filipino travelers to Japan in November 2024 (the highest from ASEAN), travel has grown to be an outstanding medium for cultural exchanges between our beloved countries.

As the perfect avenue for our countries to bond, allow me to make a case for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, taking place this April 13 to Oct. 13, and why it rightfully deserves to be your next reason to travel to Japan.

Expo 2025

The start of International Registered Exhibitions, or “World Expos,” can be traced to the 1851 “Great Exhibition” in London. Displaying the age’s latest marvels for all to see, these expos have delighted countless spectators for more than a century.

From the telephone to the first airplane, some of the life-changing technology we take for granted today saw their first eager audiences in these exhibitions. The Ferris wheel and the Eiffel Tower even made their first public appearances in these expos, truly making them events to behold.

1970 would go on to be an exciting year as Japan became the first Asian country in history to host a World Expo, holding it in its ebullient city of Osaka.

The Philippine Pavilion, designed by renowned Philippine architect Leandro Locsin for the 1970 Expo, was lauded as one of the ten most popular pavilions. Witnessing this auspicious occasion was none other than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was then in his youth, as well as his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos.

With the World Expo coming home to scenic Osaka once again this 2025, Japan’s second-largest city is set to captivate its visitors with second-to-none attractions. Overflowing with magnificent cuisine and sights, Osaka serves as a charming base for Expo attendees and a gateway to Japan’s other iconic prefectures and cities for insatiable travelers.

Looking back on the pavilion design the Philippines unveiled last year for Expo 2025, I am thrilled to see its evocative and creative charm turn heads this year as it did with its participation in Osaka’s first expo.

While the world has gone through quite a few changes since 1970, Japan remains as eager as it was back then, embodying the same innovative spirit that continues to drive these expos as an ideal host country.

‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’

With emerging technologies radically and rapidly redefining the way we interact with the world around us, they bring with them their share of new solutions as well as problems. In the face of such impactful developments, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” has emerged as this year’s grand unifying theme.

With this timely theme, Expo 2025 asks the kind of society and future we wish to realize for ourselves and the people close to us. With its three sub-themes, “Saving Lives,” “Empowering Lives” and “Connecting Lives,” pavilions will be exploring solutions that best meld sustainability and cutting-edge technology.

Infusing much-needed mindfulness in our increasingly digitalized world, I am confident the Expo will help us arrive at an answer towards a future truly designed and enjoyed by all.

Our future awaits at Expo 2025

In its continuing celebration of human innovation, these World Expos are rich symbols for our limitless potential as we march bravely towards the future. The World Expo allows us to take a step back to see the bigger picture of humanity’s collective story and the miraculous achievements it has made in its long and infinite journey.

With attractions highlighting mankind’s recent achievements, visitors of the Expo 2025 are sure to gain a clearer sense of where we could all be headed in the years, even decades, to come.

Looking back on the 1970 Osaka Expo, the moon rock brought back by Apollo 11 was on display, captivating visitors with mankind’s remarkable achievements and the mysteries of the unknown universe.

Building upon this legacy, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will present an even more awe-inspiring exhibit. A “Mars Rock,” which is believed to have been ejected from Mars 13 million years ago and to have landed on Earth tens of thousands of years ago, will be featured. This cosmic artifact is considered an important piece of evidence in understanding the presence of the origins of life. Visitors will be able to imagine the origin of the universe, the birth of mankind and feel the endless pursuit of humanity to reach Mars via the moon.

A kaleidoscope of unforgettably unique experiences awaits in each distinct pavilion. Coupled with Osaka’s unique Kansai charm and inimitable wonders, visitors from the Philippines are sure to leave thoroughly satisfied, but eagerly wanting more.

On Jan. 3, only 100 days remain until the curtains rise on Expo 2025. As we prepare to take our next big leap into the future, why not make your next resolution to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience? After all, Osaka is now willing, waiting and ready for the world.

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Endo Kazuya is the Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines.