COVER STORY
After six months of showcasing the country, Team PNG return home, proud of their accomplishments and establishing links with people from around the world.
IN a world facing division, the profound significance of over 160 countries gathered in Kansai City, Osaka, Japan reaffirmed that the world is “diverse, yet one,” a core message of the expo, whose theme was Designing Future Society for Our Lives.
After six months of exhibiting and showcasing Papua New Guinea at the world expo in Japan, Team Section PNG returned, proud of their accomplishments and engagements.
The expo started on April 13. This was the second time that the Osaka Prefecture hosted the expo, having previously hosted it in 1970 in Suita.
The 2025 expo marked the return of the scheduled five-year event after the 2020 Dubai expo was delayed to 2021 due to the Corona virus pandemic.
PNG was one of the first countries to attend the official opening of the expo. International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru farewelled the Section PNG team during the final expo dinner at the State Function room in Port Moresby on April 2 with a simple message: “In order to secure an economic cooperation agreement with the fourth largest economic superpower, which is Japan, we must spend money, time and effort to go to them so that they can come us.”
Almost four months into the expo, on July 21, Prime Minister James Marape was invited by the Expo Association to give a keynote address during PNG’s National Day celebration. Marape highlighted the Japan-PNG’s longstanding relationship after World War II and the 50 years of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
He also revealed the need for economic cooperation between Japan and PNG in the areas of investment, tourism, and market access for local PNG agriculture crops and fisheries products.
After the National Day Celebration on July 21 in Osaka, Marape and the PNG delegates travelled to Tokyo to meet up with then PM Shigeru Ishiba and the Japanese investor delegates. There PNG signed number of agreements on fisheries, climate change, investment and tourism. PNG was the only country to conduct a full on meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan during the course of the expo. This signified the continue partnership and cooperation between the two countries.
World Expo
The Section PNG expo team was made up by lead agencies; National Trade Office, Tourism Promotion Authority, National Fisheries Authority, and Investment Promotion Authority. Supporting agencies included; Immigration and Citizenship Authority, Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Department of Foreign Affairs through the Kundu Tokyo office, and the Special Economic Zone Authority.
On Oct 13, after a 184-day run, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan concluded successfully, recording over 28 million visitors. The PNG Pavilion had attracted visitors who were keen on tasting Arabica and Robusta coffee and seeing the 3D hologram which was sponsored by the National Fisheries Authority.
On the closing of the Osaka World Expo 2025, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition Chairperson Masakazu Tokura and Association Secretary General Hiroyuki Ishige expressed gratitude and reflect on the expo’s success.
Tokura thanked all participating countries, exhibitors, staff, visitors, and the international media for their essential support. He declared that it was this generation’s mission to carry the expo’s legacy forward by implementing advanced technologies to protect and preserve the natural environment, including animals, for future generation, and to collaborate efforts to against climate change.
The expo successfully achieved its three core goals: Avoiding major accidents, remaining financially solvent, and attracting a large number of visitors. Key factors for the success of the expo were attributed to two main drivers; daily improvement and attractive content from every pavilion, including the PNG Pavilion.
The expo’s success was created by everyone involved, including visitors, staff, and the media. The expo’s legacy will remain as a seed that grows and blossoms globally.
A total of 49 pavilions were recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) across five categories; architecture and landscape, external design, exhibition design, theme development, and sustainability. Although PNG Pavilion was not recognised in any of the category, its open and spaces design made visitors feel welcomed.
The entire energy of the expo was electrifying. Every day thousands of visitor explored pavilions, marvelling at the latest technologies such flying cars displayed in the Japan Pavilion, as well as historical artefacts and culturally inspired fashion clothing, jewellery, and live performances. The expo had something for every age group and ethnicity.
The most fascinating thing about the expo was the number of kids (age between 5-16 year olds) that turned up to the expo site. It was inspiring to see the next generation drawn to innovation, technologies, but at the sometime the history of the planet and what shaped the world as we know it today. School children asked questions on culture, trade, agriculture and fishing methods and tourism.
This is a sign of what our world will look like in the next decade. A world connected by information and communication through the social media and mobile phone will also play a huge role in connecting people together and it was exciting to witness this first hand.
PNG Pavilion drew visitors, young and old, with the aroma of coffee and vanilla, and the colourful display of bilums, meri blouses, and artefacts (carvings).
Also the virtual display of PNG’s sophisticated natural environment, mountains, forests, coasts, rivers, fauna and day to day lifestyle attracted thousands every day.
The pavilion resembled the diverse culture and traditions that PNG has. The questions mostly asked were: Where is PNG is located?”; “What type of coffee do you have”; and “How to travel to PNG from Japan?”
The Section PNG team did a great job in answering and explaining thought visitors about the history and the close friendship between Japan and PNG.
His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Akishino formally declared, “I believe that it is of profound significance that the expo has offered opportunities that have brought together large numbers of people here on Yumeshima to forge links and deepen mutual understanding and to ponder together solutions to the common issues that confront humanity. I hope that the world will continue “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.””
The ceremony also featured addresses by the Prime Minister Ishiba, the Minister for the World Expo, Yoshitaka Ito General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) President of the Alain Berger, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Hirofumi Yoshimura, and the Secretary General of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, Hiroyuke Ishige.
Section PNG Expo General Secretary Gabriel Dusava was a guest at the Nara Primary School, in Japan’s Nara Prefecture.
Berger declared: “Expo 2025 has invited the world to reflect on the future of humanity. Guided by a spirit of solidarity, innovation, and hope, it has highlighted the core priorities: health, the environment, human dignity, and shared progress. In a world confronted with global challenges, Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai has stood as a symbol of resilience. It has shown that collective intelligence and international cooperation are our greatest strengths in the face of uncertainty.”
As a symbolic handover to the future, the flag of the BIE and Expos was lowered and returned to the President of the BIE General Assembly Berger and Secretary General of the BIE Dimitri Kerkentzes. It was then entrusted to the Saudi Arabian Minister and Royal Commission for Riyadh City CEO (RCRC), representing Expo 2030 Riyadh, the next World Expo.
Specialised Expo 2027 Belgrade and Horticultural Expo 2027 Yokohama also symbolically received the flag of the BIE and Expos in a gesture of continuity.
Earlier that day, representatives of Japan, international participants and the BIE gathered for the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai Declaration forum, centered around the Expo’s intellectual legacy. Reflecting the spirit of partnership and goodwill that characterised Expo 2025, the organiser and international participants appealed to continue fostering co-creation and shared decision-making in shaping a future society for all.
Secretary General of the BIE Kerkentzes said: “At a time when the world faces uncertainty, tensions and conflict, Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai provided something rare and vital: a space for human interaction, for face-to-face diplomacy, for co-creation, and for the exploration of fundamental questions about our shared future. Within the Grand Ring, new threads of understanding were woven between people and nations, creating a common bond that will live on beyond the event.”
The final hours of the expo included a vibrant flag parade celebrating the unity and shared purpose of international participants, while an array of performances from around the globe charmed visitors across the site.
The evening concluded with a celebratory fireworks display, illuminating Yumeshima Island one last time before the expo site closed its gates at 10pm.
The next World Expo, Expo 2030 Riyadh, will take place between Oct 1, 2030 and March 31, 2031, under the theme “Foresight for Tomorrow”.
Japan and PNG’s continued partnership- Nadzab
The Nadzab airport in the Huon Gulf District of Morobe holds a deep historical connection with Japan. In 1943, during World War II, it was the site of fierce battles. Over 150 thousand Imperial Japanese soldiers lost their lives in what became known as the “Place of No Return” for Japanese troops in New Guinea.
Imperial Japan had established bases in areas such as Rabaul, Buna, and Lae, but in 1943, the Allied forces launched an airborne operation on Nadzab, quickly capturing the airfield and turning the tide of the war. The airfield became a strategic base for Allied counterattacks, known as the “Northern Australian Defence Zone Air Base (Nadzab).
Once a place of conflict between Japan and Allied forces, Nadzab now stands as a symbol of peace and friendship. The airport named “Tomodachi” (meaning “friend” in Japanese) serves as a powerful reminder of hope.
Friendship and future
Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, voluntary fundraising and charity events were held across PNG. A total of K10 million kina (approximately 320 million yen at the time), including contribution from the Government, was donated to Japan. The people of PNG stood in solidarity with Japan in its time of suffering.
Over the past five decades, Japan has supported the people and government of PNG, steadily building a relationship of trust. In 2025, both the Japanese diplomatic relation in PNG and the nation of PNG marked the 50th anniversary.
On Oct 13 in Osaka, Kansai City, at the closing of 2025 World Expo, PNG and Japan once more stood side-by-side to witness the world coming together and enjoying each other’s company.
A glimpse into what the future would look like when people choose friendship over race difference, common interests over indifference, and the preserving this planet for the next generation to inherit.
Section PNG Expo Secretariat Commissioner General Dusava said: “For we are custodians of this planet and we must protect it for the next generations to come after us, so that they too can at least have the opportunity to see the beauty of the world we see today and our fathers’ fathers have saw before us.
“The expo was tailored to fit the Japanese but nonetheless, it gave us the opportunity to connect, interact, engage and build lasting friendships with the people of the world. We are one family. Domo arigatogozaimasu.”
AloJapan.com