OSAKA: A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Osaka on Wednesday for the U.S. pavilion at the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city.

The Expo will be a place where people gather to “explore the future,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said at the event on the manmade island of Yumeshima, the Expo venue.

“Given the world events right now, the world could use a little peaceful coexistence,” he said, apparently referring to tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The U.S. pavilion, themed on “Imagine What We Can Create Together,” will be made up of two triangular buildings inspired by Japan’s “wabi-sabi” philosophy. It is expected to feature simulated trips to the United States and to space.

A U.S. official said that the country’s Expo preparations are going smoothly as planned, adding that pavilion construction will begin early next month and be completed by January next year.

Many countries planning to participate in the Expo have been slow to construct their own pavilions due to soaring materials prices and labor shortages.

Jiji Press