1. Groundbreaking ceremony for the pavilion

METI will exhibit the Japanese Government Pavilion (Japan Pavilion) at the 2025 World Exposition in Japan (Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan), upholding a concept titled "Between Lives." METI hereby announces that on September 11, 2023, it held a groundbreaking ceremony as an event prior to launching the construction work on the pavilion at the site of the exposition in Yumeshima (Konohana Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture).

2. Details of the ceremony

The ceremony brought together 70 participants, including government stakeholders, parliament members, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, and the Mayor of Osaka City as well as members of the Workshop on Basic Concepts of the Japan Pavilion and the Study Group on Projects Exhibited by the Government, stakeholders of local municipalities, and the representatives of related companies. In addition, State Minister Nakatani, Mr. Toyoda Toshiro, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Mr. Yoshimura Hirofumi, Governor of Osaka Prefecture, and other officials broke ground for the pavilion at the site, wishing for safe and successful construction work on the pavilion.

Date

From 13:00 to 14:00, September 11 (Mon.), 2023

Venue

Scheduled site for the pavilion at the exposition site in Yumeshima (Konohana Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture)

Program (honorifics of the speakers omitted.)

Opening remarks

• Mogi Tadashi, Director-General for Commerce and Service Industry Policy, METI
• Speech by a representative of the organizer: Nakatani Shinichi, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
• Speech by a representative of the co-organizer: Toyoda Toshiro, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
• Speech by a representative of guests: Torii Shingo, Vice Chairman of the Board, Suntory Holdings Limited; Chairperson, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Chair, Study Group on Projects Exhibited by the Government at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
• Speech by a representative of local municipalities involved in the venue of the exposition: Yoshimura Hirofumi, Governor of Osaka Prefecture
• Speech by a representative of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition: Ishige Hiroyuki, Secretary General of the association
• Celebration speech: Sato Oki, General Producer and Designer of the Japan Pavilion
• Closing remarks: Kenzaka Shigenori, Director-General, Kinki Regional Development Bureau, MLIT

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Division in Charge

International Exhibitions Promotion Office, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group