Imagine you're in Osaka in 2025. After arriving, you're welcomed by people on the streets, where you stop by a takoyaki vendor for a quick octopus dumpling snack before heading out to see the sights. Walking around Osaka, you'll feel safe in the presence of police officers offering snappy salutes and small robots that look and sound like extras in a "Star Wars" film. Just the droids you're looking for.

On Yumeshima Island, only about 20 minutes from central Osaka, you'll be able to visit the Osaka-Kansai Japan World Expo and enjoy not only attractions with zero waiting times but also interact with people from diverse backgrounds to cocreate in organic harmony. All with an eye toward helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

That's the vision in anime form that Osaka's leaders presented to the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions earlier this month for their World Expo 2025 bid. With one year until the BIE awards the expo, Osaka is gearing up to launch a domestic and international marketing campaign next year in the hope of winning a majority of the 170 delegate votes that will be cast.