Hidden legacy of Japan's Expo: Beyond technology and tourism
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
By: Ro’a Hanini
Editor's Note: The following analysis is derived from an exclusive visit and private briefings with high-profile officials directly involved in the planning and execution of Japan's recent World Expo. This piece explores the unexpected cultural and diplomatic impact of the event, moving beyond the standard metrics of technology and visitor numbers.
The World Expo in Japan was marketed as a grand showcase of future technology and economic activity. However, in private briefings with its organizers, a far more nuanced and significant story emerged: the Expo's true legacy may lie in its capacity as a microcosm for global collaboration and civilized diplomacy in an increasingly polarized world.
This analysis details the four most surprising takeaways from the event; from the deep dives into regenerative medicine and AI, to the gold-standard success of a small pavilion from the Middle East.
- Digital frontier: Japan's vision for the Future of Life -
The Japanese-led and corporate pavilions provided a concrete, ambitious look at the country's vision for life in 2050 and beyond, focusing heavily on the integration of AI, robotics, and biotech into daily human life.
- The Future of Life Pavilion: Championed by roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, this Signature Pavilion introduced visitors to highly realistic androids and explored the technological co-evolution of humanity over the next 1,000 years, pushing boundaries on the nature of consciousness.
- NTT Pavilion: Parallel Travel: This showcased NTT's IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) infrastructure, demonstrating how spatial transfer technology could effectively dissolve physical distance and allow for seamless, emotionally shared communication across vast distances.
- Osaka Healthcare Pavilion: Focused on Designing Future Healthcare, emphasizing preventive and personalized medicine. The centerpiece was the "REBORN Experience Route," which allowed visitors to experience their "future self of the year 2050," based on their own health data and AI diagnostics. The exhibits highlighted breakthroughs in Cellular-care and robotic surgery.
- PASONA NATUREVERSE: This pavilion connected the themes of Body, Mind, and Bonds through advanced biotechnology, notably featuring iPS cell-derived myocardial sheets - a key breakthrough in regenerative medicine led by Osaka experts - symbolizing the "Spiral of Life."
- Human element: Identity runs the show -
The primary intangible success, according to organizers, was the way national identity manifested not just in the exhibits, but in the people running the pavilions.
The mandate encouraged countries to involve their own citizens - from architects to young attendants - in the daily operation of their spaces. This "handcrafted element," ensured that the national identity was reflected in the interactions with visitors.
This human touch meant the pavilions became living extensions of their countries, allowing for deeper engagement than a purely virtual or consultant-run display could achieve, demonstrating that national identity, when expressed through human interaction, remains a powerful draw.
- Diplomacy and collaboration: From desert sands to global peace -
While the focus was on future tech, the Expo's most surprising connections were diplomatic and cultural.
- The Jordan Pavilion was a major point of success, ranking first in visitor satisfaction. Jordan’s masterful fusion of ancient history (with sand brought all the way from Wadi Rum and a scene of the Rose City of Petra) with a forward-looking, sustainable vision, delivered through immersive media, demonstrated that rich narrative and cultural identity are critical to visitor satisfaction, regardless of pavilion size.
Officials stressed that the Expo was designed as a microcosm of the world, where people with disparate political views could physically collaborate for half a year. The event served as:
- A Diplomatic Venue: Hosting numerous official and informal diplomatic meetings and closed lunches, allowing leaders (including Middle Eastern dignitaries) to hold "deep discussions" on issues like humanitarian solutions and stability.
- An Open Forum: Maintaining an open participation policy, hosting “both Palestinian and Israeli official pavilions, while respecting Russia’s decision not to participate,” as one official told Roya News English, in an effort to symbolize a commitment to multilateral engagement and the peaceful exchange of ideas through theme weeks and academic discussions.
Read more: King meets with team behind Jordan Pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025
- Gentle power of Japanese hospitality -
Perhaps the most potent and hoped-for legacy of the Expo is what officials called the "gentle" and "civilized" atmosphere created by the Japanese staff.
Officials expressed a clear hope that a civilized, humane way of managing massive international crowds becomes an "intangible legacy" that visitors carry back to their home countries. It represents a subtle but powerful form of cultural influence - a quiet lesson in collaborative citizenship - that extends far beyond any single technological display.
