INTERVIEW: Osaka Expo Exec Stresses Message, Legacy ahead of Closing

Osaka, Oct. 10 (Jiji Press)–The World Exposition in the city of Osaka, western Japan, has successfully delivered its message of “unity in diversity” to the world, an executive of the six-month-long international event, which is set to end Monday, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. The Expo came after people and countries faced difficulties communicating during the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time when conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are ongoing, Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general at the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said. But the Expo, which opened April 13, was able to send a message that “the world is diverse yet united, and it is very important for everyone to become connected,” he said. On the Expo’s legacy, Ishige cited as “a good example” a plan to reuse part of the Grand Ring, a huge wooden structure and the symbol of the Expo, for public housing for people afflicted by last year’s powerful earthquake and heavy rain that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan. “That can evoke people’s memory of the Expo,” he said. The public housing using part of the structure will be built in the city of Suzu in Ishikawa Prefecture. Ishige also said: “I’m proud that countries participating in the Expo joined forces to hold the event to the end despite facing difficulties making preparations as the international situation was very unstable. This can be a source of confidence.” The number of visitors to the Expo started to rise around May. Before the opening, many people were uncertain about what they could see at the Expo, Ishige said. “But after it opened, people shared their experiences, and (the Expo’s popularity) spread at an accelerated pace as the number of visitors grew,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]