Expo 2025, Osaka: a planet of pavilions and a Grand Ring to envelop them all - with flying cars overhead
In every direction there is fevered activity. Cranes are hoisting, foremen in high-vis jackets are directing, carpenters are hammering, masons are levelling. The smell of newly laid bitumen competes with the rich scent of Japanese hinoki cypress. A saw screeches through sheet metal, a delivery truck beeps as it reverses, instructions are shouted.
Advertisement
Days before the official opening ceremony of the
Expo 2025 in Osaka , on April 13, the final push is on to make sure a mammoth event that brings together 158 countries and regions from around the world is a success.
With the clock ticking, PostMag has been given exclusive access to the site and a preview of the expo, which will run until October 13. And while questions have been
raised about the cost and modern-day relevance of an event that can trace its history back to the grand 'expositions universelle' of the 1800s in cities such as Paris, London and Brussels, it is clear that the Osaka Expo 2025 will not only bring together innovations from around the world, but also offer solutions to our planet's most urgent issues.
The Expo 2025 logo, designed to resemble a creature made up of connected red cells, expressing the brilliance of life, adorns manhole covers in Osaka, Japan.
The expo is being hosted on Yumeshima, a 390-hectare man-made island in Osaka Bay whose name translates as 'Dream Island'. Development of the site has necessitated the construction of comprehensive public transport facilities and many of the
28 million anticipated visitors will arrive using a state-of-the-art subway station.
Immediately beyond the entrance gates lies the Grand Ring, the symbol of the expo and the brainchild of
architect Sou Fujimoto . The ring encircles the international pavilions and is a latticework of towering cedar, cypress and Scots pine that soars to a maximum height of 20 metres, all put together in the nuki style of Japanese carpentry, which employs the crafted joints and connectors traditionally used in temples and shrines.
The ring itself is 30 metres across and, on its upper level, has a 2km boardwalk with landscaped gardens, allowing visitors to walk around the entire site. The Grand Ring communicates the concept of 'unity in diversity', expo organisers point out, and, with a surface area of 61,035 square metres, was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest wooden architectural structure on the planet.
Advertisement
From the top of the ring, the skyscrapers of Osaka can be seen on the horizon while a steady flow of ships ply the waters around this artificial island. To the west, the city of Kobe hugs the coastline before rising steeply to Mount Rokko.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
4 hours ago
- HKFP
China to restart imports of some Japanese seafood after nearly 2-year Fukushima ban
China has lifted a ban on seafood imports from most regions of Japan, partially mending a years-long dispute over Tokyo's handling of nuclear wastewater. China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over territorial rivalries and military spending has frayed ties in recent years. Japan's brutal occupation of parts of China before and during World War II remains a sore point, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to atone for its past. Japan began gradually releasing treated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in 2023. The move was backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the plant operator TEPCO says all radioactive elements have been filtered out except for tritium, levels of which are within safe limits. But it drew sharp criticism from Beijing, which banned imports of Japanese seafood as a result. Russia later followed suit. Samples from long-term monitoring of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima had 'not shown abnormalities', China's General Administration of Customs said in a statement Sunday. As a result, China 'decided to conditionally resume' seafood imports from Japan, with the exception of imports from 10 of the country's 47 prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo, which remain banned. The Japanese government received the decision 'positively', Kazuhiko Aoki, deputy chief cabinet secretary, told reporters in Tokyo. But Japan 'will strongly demand the Chinese side lift remaining import regulations on seafood from 10 prefectures', he added. Japanese Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also called China's move 'a major milestone'. In 2011, a huge earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami that swamped the Fukushima nuclear facility and pushed three of its six reactors into meltdown. China vociferously opposed the release of the treated wastewater, casting it as environmentally irresponsible. But in September last year it said it would 'gradually resume' importing the seafood. Production companies that had suspended trade must reapply for registration in China and would be 'strictly' supervised, Beijing's customs administration said Sunday.
RTHK
12 hours ago
- RTHK
Japan factory output growth slower than expected
Japan factory output growth slower than expected Japan's industrial output rose 0.5 percent in May from the previous month, compared to a median market forecast for a 3.5 percent rise. File photo: Reuters Japanese factory output rose at a slower pace than expected in May, government data showed on Monday, as sweeping US tariffs were threatening to derail the country's already fragile economic recovery. Industrial output rose 0.5 percent in May from the previous month, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed, less than a median market forecast for a 3.5 percent rise. Manufacturers surveyed by METI expect seasonally adjusted output to rise 0.3 percent in June and fall 0.7 percent in July. Tokyo is scrambling to find ways to get Washington to exempt its automakers from automobile industry-specific tariffs of 25 percent, which are dealing a heavy blow to the country's manufacturing sector. Japan also faces a 24 percent "reciprocal" tariff rate starting on July 9 unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. The hit from US tariffs could derail Japan's lacklustre economic recovery. Subdued private consumption already caused the world's fourth-largest economy to shrink in January-March, the first contraction in a year. The US tariffs also complicate the Bank of Japan's endeavour to raise still-low interest rates and reduce a balance sheet that has ballooned to roughly the size of Japan's economy. (Reuters)
RTHK
a day ago
- RTHK
China partially resumes Japanese seafood imports
China partially resumes Japanese seafood imports The mainland resumes seafood imports from most Japanese prefectures. File photo: AFP The mainland will resume imports of qualified aquatic products from some Japanese regions starting on Sunday, the customs department announced. "Based on the prerequisites that continuous long-term international monitoring of Japan's Fukushima treated nuclear wastewater discharge and independent sampling inspections by Chinese authorities show no abnormalities, as well as the Japanese government's commitment to ensuring the quality and safety of aquatic products exported to China, the Chinese government has decided to conditionally resume imports of aquatic products (including edible aquatic animals) from certain regions of Japan," the department said in a notice. It said imports will continue to be banned from the prefectures of Fukushima, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano, Saitama, Tokyo, and Chiba. The move ends an almost two-year ban on such products, introduced after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in 2023. Authorities said imports will have to come with an official sanitary certificate from the Japanese government, a certificate of compliance for radioactive substance testing and a certificate of origin. The department pledged "strict supervision" of Japanese aquatic imports. "Should any products fail to comply with relevant Chinese laws, regulations, and food safety standards, or if Japanese authorities fail to effectively fulfil their official supervisory responsibilities, control measures will be promptly enforced," it said.
