The expo, which will take place on the artificial island of Yumeshima, will be under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” and will mark the 25th occasion the grand duchy has participated in the world expo.  

Special focus will be given to mobility, carbon neutrality and digitalisation and their intersection with society of the future.

“In Osaka we will build the most sustainable pavilion in our history,” Fayot said during Wednesday’s press briefing. “The pavilion will be a perfect calling card for the sustainable and circular Luxembourg as foreseen by the government for the coming decades.”

Luxembourg has a 90-year history in developing relations with Japan, with its most recent state visit in 2017. A Luxembourg embassy has been in place in Tokyo since 1987, while the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office there helps it further develop its bilateral relations. Fayot praised Japan as the top three of the biggest economies in the world, the grand duchy’s third biggest trading partner in Asia, and an economy with a high growth potential. 

Amongst the Luxembourg companies already operating in the Japanese market include Cargolux, Ceratizit and Luxcontrol, to name a few, and Japanese companies like Fanuc have also invested in Luxembourg. But Fayot sees more potential, for example in financial services and new technologies and to increase synergies in the new space sector, Japan and Luxembourg being among the first eight countries to have signed the Artemis Accords, a story Delano broke in October. 

Reduced pavilion compared to Dubai 

As Luxembourg gears up to participate in the Expo 2020 Dubai world expo--postponed because of the pandemic to 1 October 2021-31 March 2022--Fayot said the Osaka pavilion will be reduced and smaller compared to the one in the United Arab Emirates capital. He envisions it will be a “Luxembourg-Japan fusion style” across the 1,250m2 (compared  to 2,700m2 for Dubai), ideally using both a Luxembourg architectural firm but also Japanese expertise, although the competition should be launched before the end of the year.  

As for the spending? “I can’t give a budget envelope,” Fayot said. “There are too many unknowns... [but] it will be under that of Dubai.” That is to say, under €32m. A competition is expected to launch in the coming months. 

Fayot said he spoke to Shinji Inoue, the minister in charge of the 2025 expo, on Tuesday “to get a good place at the expo,” given this is decided on a first-come, first-served basis. 

The event is expected to attract 175 official participants from across 150 countries and 25 international organisations.