Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Takamori Yoshikawa, senior vice minister at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, lay the cornerstone of the Japan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Exposition on Friday.
"The Shanghai Expo will be important as an economic symbol, and Japan will do its best to help it succeed," Fukuda said of the exhibition scheduled to open next year.
The dome-shaped Japan Pavilion, covering 7,200 sq. meters and estimated to cost ¥13 billion, will exhibit energy-saving and water-purification technologies and robots.
