I would like to introduce Osaka’s attractions and strengths, as well as our vision for the future.
I believe that the attractions and strengths of Osaka can be expressed by the “three E’s” of expo, economy and environment.
The first E stands for the expo, which will be held on Yumeshima, an artificial island on Osaka’s waterfront. The expo is scheduled to start on April 13, 2025, and is expected to attract more than 28 million visitors before ending on Oct. 13, next year.
In addition to pavilions for official participants from around the world and for private parties, we are preparing a feature called the Osaka Health Care Pavilion. This will be the first exhibition created through local industry-academia-government collaboration and will enable visitors to experience future society from the perspective of life and health under the main theme of “Reborn.”
At the pavilion, visitors will be able to try the Meet Your Future experience. This allows people to meet an avatar representing them 25 years in the future, generated from an analysis of visitors’ personal health information. This pavilion will give visitors messages of “People Can Be Reborn” and “We Take a New Step,” which are embodied in “Reborn” through various exhibition contents such as the Future of Health Care and the Future of Cities.
In the atrium, an exhibition titled “iPS (induced pluripotent stem) Cells for the Future” will be set up to disseminate the potential of regenerative medicine in Osaka and the Kansai region and its possibilities for the future, including iPS cell-based myocardial sheets and a model of a living heart. We aim to present exhibits that will encourage children to feel the fascination of regenerative medicine, including through iPS cells, and develop their interests in science and medicine.
The city of Osaka is famous for its manufacturing industry and has many small and midsize enterprises and startups with excellent technologies. The Reborn Challenge zone will feature weekly exhibits of outstanding ideas and cutting-edge technologies from more than 400 companies. The high level of technology and excellence of Osaka’s manufacturing industry will be communicated to the world.
The future entertainment “XD Hall” will also offer visitors experiences that will surprise and impress them through an unprecedented immersive space.
A variety of unique experiences awaits people visiting the Osaka Health Care Pavilion, and we look forward to welcoming them.
The second E stands for the economy.
In the Kansai economic zone, Japan’s leading large companies are concentrated in the area within a 50-kilometer radius of Osaka and neighboring Kyoto and Kobe.
In addition, to realize Osaka as a global financial hub, the city is working to attract companies, support funding for startups, and revitalize financial markets by reducing local taxes and helping companies establish branches in the city via subsidies, in cooperation with the business community and others, as well as the municipal governments of Osaka.
The third E stands for the environment.
Osaka has long prospered as a center of Japan’s economy, culture and tourism. It is only 30 minutes away from major cities such as Kyoto and Kobe by train and accessible in just an hour by plane from Tokyo. Huge numbers of foreign tourists visit Osaka to enjoy its refined culinary culture, traditional Japanese performing arts and captivating entertainment venues like Universal Studios Japan, and the number of visits is expected to reach 14 million this year, more than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, in the British journal The Economist, Osaka was ranked 10th in the list of the World’s Most Livable Cities for 2023 and the only city from Asia in the top 10.
Osaka has been attracting many people to its main tourism spots, such as the Kita district centered on the Umeda area, and the Minami district, famed for the Dotonbori area. On Sept. 6, as part of an ongoing redevelopment project, a preliminary town opening was held in Umeda, revealing a new urban oasis infused with plenty of green space. In Minami, Midosuji Boulevard is shifting from being car-centered to people-centered. As the Higashi district around Osaka Castle and the Nishi area along the waterfront are being developed for international tourism through the expo and an integrated resort, we are aiming to make Osaka an even more vibrant and attractive city.
Finally, with just five months to go until the opening of the expo, our preparations are in the final stages. In cooperation with the national government, the Exposition Association and the business community, we, the local government, will also do our utmost to ensure that the opening of the expo will be a catalyst for the growth and development of Osaka, the Kansai region and ultimately Japan.
I look forward to seeing you all here in Osaka.
