WORLD EXPO 2025 NEWS「KIZUNA －絆－News letter」
KIZUNA means bonds in English

We hope to show to the world our current lifein São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as theculture in the plantation, which is the main
theme of our country. The Osaka-Kansai Expo
will be a very good opportunity for us. Our
country is located in Equatorial Africa, and theIsland of Principe is registered as a
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. So,
this is a nice opportunity to show
the Biosphere work we are doing inour country.
Mr. Hamilton Cruz, Government
representative in Sao Tome and PrincipeIssued July 3, 2024, Vol.11

Regeneration
Canada expects from Expo 2025 Osaka, for it tobe a terrific success. We're all excited aboutcounting down to April 13 2025, where Osaka will
welcome the world. It's about sustainability. But
it's also about showcasing the best of all of thecountries and the organizations
who will present at this global
event.

Ms. Laurie Peters, Representative of
the Government of Canada

COME BUILD THE FUTURE‘Life’, ‘Planet’, ‘Augmented Human’

The Osaka-Kansai Expo will be a huge
moment for Japan, and it’s really important forthe UK that we are part of that. The theme ofour pavilion is “Come Build the Future”, andthe Expo is a huge opportunity for us all tocome together and celebrate what
we can do as an international
community. So, I’m really looking
forward to that.

Well, for this Expo to open on April 13, for theJapanese public to be excited to come andvisit all the pavilions, and for the participating
countries and the Japanese society to work on
projects during Expo during the Theme Weeks
to actually make this world abetter place. That's my very
high expectations of this Expo.

Ms. Carolyn Jayne Davidson,Representative of the Government ofthe United Kingdom【The week’s report】

1. Overseas Pavilions Construction Status
June 25, 26: IPM2024 Summer held
June 24: Groundbreaking ceremony of the UAE
Pavilion
June 24: Groundbreaking ceremony of the Bulgaria
Pavilion
June 24: Announcement of the Chile Pavilion’s
conceptual design
June 24: Announcement of the Nordic Pavilion’sname and concept© EXPO 2025

Co-creating the Expo withparticipating countries!

Mr. Manuel Salchli, Representative ofthe Swiss Government

2. Last week’s main events / Schedule for this weekand beyond
June 24: Osaka Chamber of Commerce andIndustry begins sharing attraction of Osaka’s
cuisine on social media
June 26: Bandai Namco Holdings announces a fullscale Gundam display for its pavilion
June 26: Construction of the Grand Roof (Ring)
completed in the northeast construction area
June 30: Osaka-Kansai Expo construction site tour
held
July 1: EXPO 2025’s digital wallet service launched
July 2: Announcement of the final number ofapplicants for the EXPO service crew
3. Sales / Applications
Tickets sold: 2,976,414 (as of June 26)

July 7 is the Star Festival. It is known as the only day of the year when Orihime (Vega in Lyra) and Hikoboshi (Altair in Aquila) can meet in the Milky Way.

Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Weekly Report (June 25 – July 1)~ 285 days to go！

2024.7.2

1. Official Participants- June 25 - 26; IPM 2024 Summer was held at the Nara Convention Center. Approximately
600 representatives from around 160 official participants attended. Minister Hanako Jimi
participated in the first day of the meeting. Sessions were held where the Association
provided information on a wide variety of topics related to participation in the Expo.
-After the IPM, representatives of Switzerland, Anglola, Italy, UK and the Netherlands held
a press conference where they commended the lively exchange of views during the IPM
as well as their resolve to contribute to the spirit of the Expo, where people from different
backgrounds come together.

-Secretary General Kerkentzes of the BIE congratulated the success of IPM and noted thepositive role played by the media in communicating the message.

https://www.expo2025.or.jp/news/news-20240627-06/-June 24; The UAE held a groundbreaking ceremony. The pavilion will be built
combining UAE-built palm trees made from agricultural waste and Japanese wooden
construction technology. The exhibit will showcase innovation and R&D achievements
in areas such as healthcare, space and sustainability.

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000007.000118196.html

1-June 24; Bulgaria held a groundbreaking ceremony. The pavilion will be a two-story
steel framed building constructed by Daiwa Lease and designed by Kobayashi Maki
design workshop.

https://www.daiwalease.co.jp/news/news_5016.html-June 24; Chile unveiled a pavilion image. Under the theme We Care, it will feature theattraction of Chile including its beautiful sky and Easter Island culture, as well as a zone
to enjoy food and wine and exhibits of traditional textiles.

-June 27; The Nordic Pavilion announced the name and concept of the pavilion. Thepavilion will be named Nordic Circle and will represent a vision of building newconnections between the Nordic countries, Japan and other countries, while striving forsustainable development.

https://www.thenordics-expoosaka.com/news/concept-expo
https://www.thenordics-expoosaka.com/media-bank2

Status of participating countries as of June 28- Number of countries with official participation agreements:- Countries where have been decided their construction companies:- Countries where already handed over the site:- Countries where construction has started:

120 countries
41 countries
43 countries
32 countries

2. Reports from the past week and plans for the upcoming week
- June 24; The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together
with the Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau and the Osaka Food
Service Industry Association, launched an initiative to use socialmedia to promote the appeal of Osaka's diverse food to global
audiences. The slogan is Let’s Eat Expo (Kuuzo, Expo).
-As a first step, the grouping will hold an Instagram campaign calling on
restaurants and food businesses to post original menus based on the themeof Expo and then serve them at the locales.
https://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/expo2025/files/article/file00000088.pdf-June 26; BANDAI NAMCO Holdings announced that it will exhibit a live-scale
Gundam statue at its pavilion. The Gundam will be 17 meters high and will be installedin the Kansai area for the first time.

https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/WEBE794A820240626E4B887E58D9A_E382ACE383B3E38380E3.pdf

3-June 26; The assembly work of the Grand Ring was completed in the Northeast
construction zone. Assembly in the West construction zone had been completed on June
7. Once the work in the Southeast construction zone is completed this autumn, the Grand
Ring will be connected as one loop.

https://www.obayashi.co.jp/news/detail/news20240626_1.html-June 30; The first Expo Construction Tour was held. A total of 143 participants, aged
from 2 to 79 years old, participated. The participants went up on the Grand Ring andexperienced the view, soaking in the fragrance of the wood and the atmosphere of thevenue. Minister Jimi and Governor of Osaka Prefecture Yoshimura welcomed theparticipants. The next tour will be held on July 28.

-July 1; The EXPO 2025 Digital Wallet service, the cashless service at the venue waslaunched. The electronic money MYAKU-PE!, the electronic points MYAKU-PO! andthe Expo's own NFT MYAKU-N! Started. Myaku-Myaku Rewards Program, whichallows users to earn benefits based on the usage of digital wallets was also launched.
* MYAKU-PE! is mobile payment that can be charged from a credit card or bank account. Since it isavailable on Visa's contactless payment, it can be used at any payment-enabled merchant nationwide,both inside and outside the venue.

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* MYAKU-PO! allows visitors to earn points by participating in various SDGs and EXPO initiatives.

*MYAKU-N! encourages visitors to participating inMyakkoon! image

events using MYAKU-PE!, receiving unique, Expothemed NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

* MYAKU-MYAKU Reward Program allows visitors to raise your status and receive
gifts and services according to your status by using the "EXPO2025 Digital Wallet" toperform various activities related to the Expo.

-July 2; The final number of applicants for the EXPO Service Crew (tentative) who will
be engaged in various support work at the venue, was announced. A total of 16,828
people applied. They will be responsible for supporting visitors at the entrance and exit
gates and service facilities as well as patrolling the venue to provide guidance andsupport to visitors.
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3. Ticket sales- Number of tickets sales: 2,976,414 as of June 19

4. Q&As
Sale of paper tickets- It has been reported that a decision has been made to introduce paper tickets. Will it notinterfere with the operation of the venue?
1.

Paper tickets will cater to those who are not used to smartphones and those who want
to gift tickets to others to someone. Visitors with the newly introduced paper tickets
will be able to either register an Expo ID and reserve the date and time of visit, or not
register an Expo ID and visit the Expo excluding of selected dates and time.

2.

For the safety and convenience of visitors and local residents, certain hours in themorning hours and times when many visitors are expected, based on the viewpoint oftraffic restrictions and restrictions in front of the gate.

3.

In order to introduce the system, it is necessary to consider how to make reservations
for venues, how to communicate congestion status, and transportation congestion
status, and how to prepare for unforeseen situations in each transportation system, as
well as explanations and approvals from the visitor transportation measures council,
which is composed of academic experts, government agencies, and relatedorganizations.

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