‘Circulation’ Is Concept of Japan Pavilion at 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo; Meteorite From Mars to Be Displayed

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:14 JST, January 27, 2025

Circulation is the concept of the upcoming 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo’s Japan Pavilion, which was unveiled to the media on Sunday.

The event’s largest pavilion presented by the host country comprises 560 wooden planks for the interior and exterior walls, and a meteorite from Mars will be displayed there. The pavilion will also serve as the signature architectural structure to welcome guests from various countries.

The two-story, circular structure measures 13 meters high and 250 meters in circumference and sits on a site area of about 13,000 square meters. The building is expected to be completed at the end of February.

Cross-laminated timber panels form the inner and outer walls of the pavilion. The panels are made from multiple domestic cedar boards glued together to increase their strength and after the Expo is over, they will be reused.

A 29-centimeter-wide, 17.5-centimeter-high rock from Mars along with its fragments will be on display. The rock is thought to hold clues to the origins of water and life. The fragments will be embedded in the wall so visitors can touch them.

In the “Algae × Hello Kitty Encyclopedia” section, algae will be featured as a potential solution for problems related to global warming and food, and 32 species have been chosen as the motifs for the costumes of Hello Kitty figurines to be on display.