Visiting Expo 2025 Osaka revealed a striking mix of ambition and uncertainty. Beneath the architectural brilliance and corporate optimism, the event reflected Japan’s search for identity between technology and society, and the Global South’s struggle for modern narratives. The Expo stands as a mirror of our times—where spectacle often outshines substance.
Visiting the #Osaka Expo in its final weeks felt like stepping into a global showcase of #ambition and #uncertainty. The site was packed — with hours-long lines — yet the urban design around the monumental wooden #RingOfHarmony was impressive. Each national pavilion stood as a distinct architectural statement, reflecting #identities more than ideas.
Beyond the grand #design, the themes often felt hollow or overly generic. Japan’s focus on the “#FutureCity” — driven largely by corporations — presented #technology as the path to #happiness, more spectacular than credible. The once-distinctive Japanese approach to new #socialsystems — so present twenty years earlier at Aichi#Expo2005, where ecology, mobility, and community life were interwoven (e.g. #Toyota) — seems to have faded from the narrative.
The #GlobalSouth held a visible and assertive presence. Malaysia 🇲🇾 and the Philippines 🇵🇭 stood near the U.S. pavilion 🇺🇸, where campaign-style videos of Donald #Trump looped on giant screens — a striking symbol of current #geopolitics.
Some of the strongest narratives came from Italy 🇮🇹 — where I had the privilege to speak 🗣️ — merging artistic #heritage with technological #innovation while celebrating regional #diversity. France 🇫🇷, by contrast, offered a conservative vision, echoing what Japan aspired to in the 1980s: elegant but nostalgic, disconnected from people and places, aside from the inevitable Mont-Saint-Michel.
In the end, the Expo mirrors Japan 🇯🇵’s ongoing quest for a coherent #identity in globalization — balancing cultural #softpower with its role as a #technology supplier, yet still struggling to project dynamic innovation #ecosystems. Meanwhile, the #GlobalSouth, with a few spectacular exceptions, remains caught between cultural #nostalgia and tourist-driven imagery rather than forward-looking #modernity.
Japan’s strategic focus on “#happiness” is double-edged. While it projects #optimism and harmony through technological progress, it risks ignoring the #social realities shaping today’s Japan — economic anxiety, demographic decline, and the quiet rise of #nationalist sentiment. Only 57% of Japanese citizens report feeling happy, one of the lowest rates among developed nations (Mainichi 🗞️, 2024). The pursuit of #happiness becomes less a shared social project than a fragile counter-narrative against deep social undercurrents.
Contrary to #Dubai #Expo2020 🇦🇪’s strategy toward urban #sustainability, the #Expo2025’s afterlife may take shape as a Las Vegas-style resort, led by U.S. investment on the same island. From #sustainability to slot machines 🎰 — a smooth transition from Future City to Future Business.
Expo 2025 Osaka France Expo 2025 Osaka Italy Expo 2025 Osaka Expo 2020 Dubai Expo City Dubai
