Introduction of Factory Area in Japanese Government Pavilion (Second Round of Publication of Displays)

1. Doraemon, a robot cat from the future, will serve as a navigator

Doraemon, one of Japan’s most famous popular characters, will serve as a navigator who explains the displays in the Factory Area.

ⒸFujiko-Pro

2. Integration of tradition and innovation: Various technological displays representing Japanese circulation-oriented manufacturing

In recent years, societies inside and outside Japan have been accelerating the transition to a circular economy, a system in which people efficiently utilize and recycle resources while maximizing the value added, and not based on the premise of mass production, mass consumption, and mass disposal of resources. The Government of Japan has been advancing collaboration between the government, industry, and academia sectors, looking to the potential of the circular economy and going beyond the conventional efforts mainly focused on the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rs) initiative, and it has also been deploying a variety of policies.

From at least several hundred years ago to the present, people in the manufacturing industry of Japan have strongly focused on the idea of circulating resources and parts or raw materials and exercising their ingenuity to create products with flexibility in terms of structure, which has led to the cultivation of Japan’s unique culture of circular manufacturing. The Factory Area of the Japan Pavilion will explain this culture to visitors by showcasing a variety of products and technologies.

The exhibition area will highlight the characteristic Japanese method for manufacturing products with flexibility and will explain the method to visitors from nine perspectives by comparing traditional efforts with the application of these efforts to cutting-edge technology.

Using the method, for example, rather than pursuing products that are strong and unbreakable, manufacturers have adopted the idea of manufacturing products that can absorb the impact on the entire product, to the extent even of allowing partial breakage to occur.

The Nagarebashi or floating bridge (also called “Kozuyabashi”), a bridge that spans the Kizu River in Kyoto Prefecture, is designed to not withstand river flows in flooding but rather to reduce the burden on the entire bridge by allowing bridge girders to flow away.

This idea was demonstrated by the structure of JAXA's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), which achieved the world's first pinpoint landing on the Moon’s surface in January 2024. When landing on the Moon, part of SLIM’s legs broke to absorb the impact and ensure a safe landing for the body.

The origin of Japan’s circulation-oriented manufacturing can be seen in the Shikinen Sengu ceremony held at Ise Jingu shrine for over 1,300 years. It takes place every 20 years to rebuild the buildings in which the gods are enshrined and the treasures used to worship them. This ceremony implies Japan’s unique idea called tokowaka (“ever young”), which means to maintain permanence by rebuilding the buildings in exactly the same manner.

The spirit of manufacturing products with flexibility, or circulation-oriented manufacturing, has been passed on to the cutting-edge technology of today thanks to manufacturers’ ingenuity over generations and the times. Doraemon, as a navigator, will explain to visitors this integration of tradition and innovation in an easy-to-understand manner.

3. Transforming raw materials into goods: Demonstrating circulation-oriented manufacturing using 3D printers

The Factory Area will showcase part of the circulation through the course of transforming raw materials into goods. Two robot-arm 3D printers will manufacture goods, namely stools to be used in the Japan Pavilion, from raw materials, or bioplastics containing algae, which are the theme of the Farm Area.

Sponsors

COI-NEXT, Keito University (Co-existence up-cycling project), COI-NEXT, Kanazawa University (Polysaccharide bioplastics circulation project), S.lab Corporation, DigitalArchi Co., Ltd., and Hoden Seimitsu Kako Kenkyusho Co., Ltd. (Co-creation project)

Representative of the sponsors: DigitalArchi Co., Ltd.
Address of main office: 1-1-14, Omachi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Zip code: 248-0007
CEO: Matsuoka Yasutomo

Related Links

• Introduction of the Farm Area in the Japanese Government Pavilion (First Round of Publication of Displays)
• Exclusive Uniform for Attendants of the Japanese Government Pavilion Chosen
• Official website of the Japan Pavilion
• Overview of the Japan Pavilion
• Official Social Media of the Japan Pavilion
  • X: Japan Pavilion; Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai: @japanpavilion_e
  • Instagram: Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (expo2025_japanpavilion) (in Japanese)
  • Facebook: Japan Pavilion (Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan) (in Japanese)

Division in Charge

Public Relations Office of the Japan Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan

Information on the Japan Pavilion

International Exhibitions Promotion Office & Planning Office, Commerce and Service Industry Policy Group