Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 opened with a theme of ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’ on April 13 2025, joined by about 160 countries and regions. Each of the countries and regions exhibit the future societies that they dream in their unique pavilions.
The EXPO came back to Osaka for the first time in 55 years. Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 expects 28.2 million visitors in total and an economic effect of 3 trillion yen during the term until October 13 2025.
The pavilions are built inside the Grand Ring, one of the world’s largest wooden structures with a total circumference of about 2 kilometers, a building area of 61,000 square meters, an inner diameter of 615 meters and a wall height of 12 meters.
The European Union Pavilion
The European Union Pavilion is inspired by he three guiding values of the New European Bauhaus (sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion), it showcases various EU policies and programs its joint efforts with Japan and the significant political, cultural, and socioeconomic ties shared between 27 member countries in ‘nurturing tomorrow’.
EU Pavilion
The exhibits include one plant where, when you stroke a leaf, new branches and leaves form on a digital plant displayed on a screen behind you, and information about the EU's sustainable agriculture and food safety appears; and another where, when you get close, a robotic arm draws a rock garden-like pattern in the sand on a round table.
The robotic arm demonstration
Singapore Pavilion
The Singapore Pavilion with 17 meters in height and about 17,000 disks like red fish scales covered, known as the “Dream Sphere”, is an immersive space showcasing Singapore’s future-forward aspirations.
Singapore Pavilion
With three chapters of ‘dream, connection and future,’ the pavilion traces ‘a dream story of Singapore,’ embodying Singapore’s commitment to innovation, resilience, sustainability, and inclusivity – key principles shaping our future. The third chapter ‘Dream Repository is a place that visitors’ dreams are projected onto a dome-shaped screen on the ceiling of the next room, shaping nature and towns.
‘A dream story of Singapore,’
GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION
Bandai Namco Holdings exhibits ‘GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION’ as an opportunity to deliver a Japanese animation culture to the world. In front to the pavilion, a life-size 17-meter Gundam statue standing on one knee and with its arm raised welcomes visitors, sending a message that ‘Looking to the future, we will open up a new space age together with humanity.’
a life-size GUNDAM welocmes visitors ©創通・サンライズ
In the pavilion, a new visual content ‘GUNDAM: Next Universal Century’ shows ‘life in space’ or ‘future science’ that GUNDAM series has depicted for a longe time and offers immersive experiences to move from the Expo venue to a space station ‘Star Jaburo’ with the orbit elevator.
Immersive「GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION」 ©創通・サンライズ
‘Flying Car’ as a future mobility
SkyDrive exhibits its originally-developed ‘Flying Car’ and will give visitors to opportunities of demonstration flights. Before the Expo opened, SkyDrive succeeded in automatically-controlled flight tests with a goal of point-to-point flight and touring flight in this coming summer.
'Flying Car'
The Grand Ring
