[Q&A with Partner Companies #1] Why did you choose to participate in the signature pavilion, “Future of Life”? What are your expectations for the pavilion itself and for the Expo as a whole?
A large number of companies are taking part in the signature pavilion, Future of Life, each of which endorses the themes of the pavilion and the approaches of Producer ISHIGURO Hiroshi. In this series of articles, we intend to showcase what ideas, visions, and initiatives these companies have come up with in response to the themes of the pavilion and of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan as a whole. In this first article, partner companies provide their answers to the questions: Why did you choose to participate in the signature pavilion, “Future of Life”? and What are your expectations for the pavilion itself and for the Expo as a whole?
HASEKO Corporation
By participating as a Platinum Partner in this state project, our goals are to stimulate further corporate growth, and to leave a legacy of which our employees can be proud. We anticipate that all visitors to the Expo—and to the Future of Life pavilion in particular—will experience a sense of elation and hope for the future, and we want their experiences at the Expo to motivate them to think more deeply about their own lives. As a corporate group that builds not only houses but homes, at HASEKO we intend to provide whatever support we can.
KOKUYO Co.,Ltd.
At KOKUYO, we believe in a future that is “a self-directed, collaborative society” in which everyone can work, live, and connect with each other with vitality. We support Prof. Ishiguro’s vision for the future “life” of diverse people. By working with other partner companies and considering the society of the future from multiple perspectives, we aim to realize the KOKUYO Purpose of “Presenting a tomorrow you can’t wait for.”
Shionogi & Co., Ltd.
https://www.shionogi.com/jp/ja/
The theme of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” As such, the Expo will be a proving ground for confronting issues faced by the global society and sharing potential solutions. Prof. Ishiguro is tasked with overseeing the pavilion, the theme of which is “Amplification of Lives.” SHIONOGI Group is a company that seeks to provide new healthcare solutions and, by taking part in the pavilion and connecting with other partner companies, we wish to raise awareness of our initiatives both in Japan and across the world.
Sysmex Corporation
The Expo’s goal of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” corresponds closely with the Sysmex Group’s Mission of “Shaping the advancement of healthcare,” and also encourages contributions to society and aids the growth of our business. We intend to shape the pavilion with other participating companies by engaging in co-creation, and we hope that the wisdom exhibited at the Expo will be transmitted from Kansai to the entire world.
Japan Federation of Kaigo Business Providers Consortium Expo 2025
The core theme of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” In Japan, we cannot consider this theme without confronting the issues of an aging society and caring for the elderly. The problems that Japan faces today will be faced by all developed countries over the next 50 years. Japan is the first country in the world to have a super-aging society, and at Japan Federation of Kaigo Business Providers Consortium Expo 2025, we firmly believe that sharing our experiences of the frontiers of care for the elderly is in the national interest.
DENSO CORPORATION
At DENSO, everything we do is based on our Mission of “Contributing to a better world by creating value together with a vision for the future.” Working together with Prof. Ishiguro and the other partner companies, we aim to better understand how “the goal of mobility” and “the meaning of movement for individuals” will evolve in future society. We also intend to identify new research themes and projects that will lead to the happiness of future societies.
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
https://www.hankyu-hanshin.co.jp/
The Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group strives to provide enriched lifestyles, by supporting and improving the daily lives of our customers. The Expo takes place in Osaka in the Kansai region, where we operate many of our businesses—we hope the event will be an opportunity to communicate the attractions of Osaka and the Kansai region to visitors from Japan and overseas, and to raise the profile of our Group. We believe there is much we can learn from Prof. Ishiguro, and we believe these learnings can contribute positively to our future initiatives.
KYOCERA Corporation
At KYOCERA, our management philosophy is rooted in the idea of coexisting in harmony with society, global community, and nature. Indeed, we have placed the concept of “Living Together” at the heart of all our corporate activities and seek to create a world of prosperity and peace. We decided to become a Bronze Partner because we support the overarching vision of the Expo, as well as the theme of the Future of Life pavilion, “Amplification of Lives,” and its concepts. Through the initiatives of this pavilion, we want to work together with the people of the world to shape the future of society.
HEART-S CO., LTD.
At HEART-S, we focus on the creation of next-generation entertainment that makes full use of leading-edge technology. We have had many opportunities to work with Prof. Ishiguro in the course of our business, such as enlisting him to participate in conversations with our group’s representative , and appointing him to create digital humans for us. We believe that sponsorship of this pavilion will lead to the creation of a space that embodies Prof. Ishiguro’s ideas and techniques as a producer.
Fujikin Incorporated
At Fujikin, we have a history of exhibiting at various Expos. These include the International Exposition, Tsukuba Japan 1985, The International Garden and Greenery Exposition, the Expo 2005 Aichi Japan, and the Expo Shanghai 2010. We also have a tradition of celebrating our founding anniversaries and 2025, the year of the Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan we will celebrate the 95th anniversary of our company. The Expo will showcase the possibilities of the future, and we believe it will be an opportunity to change the world. As such, we not only support the goals of the Future of Life pavilion, but we also have great expectations for the initiatives it inspires.
HORIBA, Ltd.
HORIBA, Ltd. supports Prof. Ishiguro’s desire to showcase the ideas of partner companies and to express his vision for the future at the Future of Life pavilion. By looking ahead with great excitement to the future 50 years from now, and by considering how we can contribute to expanding the possibilities of “life,” we believe our participation in the Expo represents an ideal opportunity to create concept models of the values that HORIBA can provide. We look forward to fashioning a unique HORIBA worldview and expressing it at the pavilion.
Iwase Cosfa Co., Ltd.
Ten years ago, we asked Prof. Ishiguro to give a commemorative lecture to mark the 80th anniversary of Iwase Cosfa’s founding—and we have remained close ever since. Upon learning of Prof. Ishiguro’s appointment as producer of the signature pavilion, Future of Life, at the Expo, we were extremely keen to work with him, and decided to become a partner company. The new “life” that Prof. Ishiguro is proposing is certain both to astound and to excite visitors to the pavilion; the advance of scientific technologies promises to continue to fascinate, and we hope these advances will inspire a sense of optimism about the future.
TOYO BEAUTY CO., LTD.
At TOYO BEAUTY, our participation in the pavilion is rooted in our support for the Prof. Ishiguro’s vision: “In future, humanity will dramatically expand the possibilities of “life” as we develop and fuse science and technology still more. We will use these diverse values and feelings of happiness to design for ourselves what humans are, human society, and the environments and ecologies around us.” By becoming a partner company for this pavilion, we hope to co-create the future.
NISHOGAKUSYA UNIVERSITY
https://www.nishogakusha-u.ac.jp/houjin/
As part of its 140th anniversary project, our university created an android modeled on its alumnus Natsume Soseki, under the supervision of Professor ISHIGURO Hiroshi; the android has now been in operation for eight years. Together with various researchers, we have discussed a society in which humans coexist with androids and AI, and we have also debated the idea of what it means to be human. By participating as a supplier in the Expo, we intend to further deepen our research and contribute to society through education.
