Despite the rain that fell in the morning, a crowd began to form an hour before the doors opened for Expo Osaka 2025, which officially opened to the public. This global event, taking place on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, features 158 participating countries, including Portugal, and is expected to attract around 28 million visitors until October 13.
Equipped with umbrellas and raincoats, visitors started entering at 09:00 local time (01:00 in Lisbon) following the opening ceremony. The theme for this year's expo is "Designing Future Societies for Our Lives", and the economic impact is estimated to range between 2 to 2.9 trillion yen (approximately €12.27 to €17.6 billion), providing a significant boost to Japan's economy, which is currently facing challenges due to rising inflation and the effects of ongoing trade tensions.
However, interest among the Japanese population has been modest, influenced by negative reports about high costs and delays in constructing some national pavilions. Portugal's participation centers on the theme "Oceano: Blue Dialogue", involving over 150 companies, associations, municipalities, and national artists.
The Portuguese Pavilion, designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, has sparked debate, particularly criticism from the Order of Architects for not being designed by a Portuguese architect. The official mascot for Portugal at the expo is named Umi, meaning ocean in Japanese, represented by a seahorse, which Prime Minister Luís Montenegro described as a beautiful choice symbolizing the connection between Portugal and Japan over the past 500 years.
Ricardo Arroja, president of the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP), highlighted the "sea of opportunities" for collaboration between Portugal and Japan during the expo. He emphasized that Portugal is making a significant investment in Osaka to showcase Portuguese culture and traditions while also aiming to reap economic benefits from the event.
The overall investment for Portugal's participation is approximately €21 million, with expectations to attract or exceed 1.4 million visitors to the Portuguese pavilion, as stated by Joana Gomes Cardoso, the general commissioner for Portugal at Expo 2025 Osaka.
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