**Expo 2025 Osaka: Designing Future Society for Our Lives**

From **April 13 to October 13, 2025**, the Japanese city of **Osaka** will host the next World Expo — a major international event that takes place every five years and brings together countries, organizations, and innovators from around the globe. Known as **Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan**, the exhibition will be held on **Yumeshima Island**, a man-made island in Osaka Bay.

Under the theme **“Designing Future Society for Our Lives,”** the Expo will serve as a platform to address some of the most pressing global challenges, including sustainability, health, and technological innovation. The event aims to explore how humanity can create a society where lives shine — a future in which technology, nature, and people exist in harmony.

More than **150 countries and regions**, along with international organizations and private companies, are expected to participate. Each will present their own vision for the future through creative and immersive pavilions. Visitors will be invited to explore ideas, solutions, and cultural expressions that reflect the diversity and potential of a truly global community.

A striking architectural centerpiece of the Expo site is the **Grand Ring (also known as the “Ring of Life”)**, which will encircle the main exhibition area. Spanning **over 2 kilometers in circumference**, this massive wooden structure will be the **largest timber construction in the world**. The ring is designed to represent unity, connection, and the shared journey of humanity into the future. It will also function as a walkway, observation deck, and structural hub for the Expo’s national and thematic pavilions.

Beyond showcasing innovation, Expo 2025 also places a strong emphasis on sustainability. Many of the structures and materials used for the site are designed with environmental impact in mind, and the event is aiming to set new standards for eco-friendly large-scale events.

As the world faces increasing uncertainty and division, Expo 2025 hopes to offer a space for dialogue, imagination, and inspiration. It’s not only a celebration of technological progress, but also a reminder of our shared responsibility to design a better, more inclusive world for future generations.

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00’00-03.36
Pictures of the Expo Pavillon external and internal
TC 3’37 Soundbite
Mr. Sou FUJIMOTO, Designer of the grand ring at the Expo.

“this structure is like a ring, a circle shape. This is representing the place where so many different cultures, backgrounds are coming together.(...) So creating diversity and unity together in here. So that must be the strong message in this beginning of the 21st century, when the entire world is very unstable. So I hope to create such kind of a clear message that the whole world still could hope to be together, to create our future.
4.14 Soundbite
Mr. Sou FUJIMOTO, Designer of the grand ring at the Expo.
Yeah, there are many discussions about what to do with this structure after the export. Personally, I myself really hope to preserve this ring in here for the future development, because now this is here and it's really wonderful. And it is like a really special memory and the legacy of the export. So I am really hoping to preserve this one in here.

4.44 Soundbite
Dr. Hiroshi ISHIGURO, Producer of the pavilion an director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan.
“From the very beginning, humans have incorporated artificial things into their bodies. Vaccines, for example, are artificial. So are clothes, glasses — an enormous number of artificial things. Humans are supported by technology. And that’s what makes us human. AI and robots are part of that, too.”
5.16 Soundbite
Jun TAKASHINA Deputy Secretary General, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition
“The theme of the Expo is 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives.'
This theme was decided before COVID-19, but then came the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the conflict in Palestine. In light of all that, I think this Expo is an incredibly valuable opportunity for people from all over the world to come together and think once again about the importance of life. Also, with 158 countries participating and staying together in one place for six months — that fact alone, in today's world where division is often discussed, makes this a meaningful opportunity to reconsider the importance of connection. I really hope the Expo can be a catalyst for that.
6.02 Soundbite
Jun TAKASHINA Deputy Secretary General, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition
TICKET SALES
Well, even so, including group reservations, we’ve already surpassed 10 million tickets sold, out of the 14 million advance sale goal. Up until now, people didn’t really know what the Expo would be like, or even if they made a reservation, they hadn't decided when to go. But now more and more details are becoming clear — people are starting to say, 'Maybe I’ll go,' or 'Let’s go during summer vacation.', “Golden Week is coming”. As dates get set and the content becomes clearer, interest will grow. We’re very hopeful that ticket sales will pick up from here."