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Back No.
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Plans
for Events,
Pavilions Come
into View
Duration: March 25 through
September 25, 2005 (185days)
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The Nagakute Area
Aichi Prefectural Pavilion will focus on
the creation of new environmentally friendly
industries.
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Less
than 500 days remain (as of November 2003)
in the countdown to the 2005 World Exposition,
Aichi, Japan, which will run from March
25 through September 25, 2005. Preparations
are moving ahead on various fronts, and
recently a number of specific details
have come into view, including plans for
events and pavilions.
This time we will introduce some topics
essential to understanding EXPO 2005 AICHI.
(In June 2003 some of the area names were
changed. Here we will use the new names,
specifically, Nagakute Area [formerly
Youth Park Area] and Seto Area [formerly
Kaisho Area].)
Mammoth
from Siberia to greet visitors?
Visitors to EXPO 2005 AICHI may be able
to encounter a mammoth, representing a
species that became extinct some 7,000
or 8,000 years ago. Work is now underway
on a project to make this possible.
The project involves unearthing a mammoth
from the Siberian permafrost and putting
it on display in the Global House (Nagakute
Area) as the symbol of the exposition.
The mammoth has been preserved underground
in a frozen state, and it is in almost
the same condition as when it was alive,
making it of extremely high scientific
value. Over the years teams from various
countries have unearthed mammoths in Siberia,
but so far no adult of the species has
been recovered whole. So if this project
succeeds, it will be a global first.
Following an initial survey in August
2003 and a second survey the following
month, full-fledged excavation is scheduled
to be carried out from May through September
2004. The project also involves consideration
of how to preserve the mammoth as part
of the human heritage for future generations
after displaying it at EXPO 2005 AICHI.
If it is actually possible to see this
mammoth from thousands of years ago at
the exposition, visitors will surely feel
not just excitement but also a deeper
understanding of the main theme of the
exposition, Nature’s Wisdom.
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A
wealth of attractions
Many other major attractions will await
visitors to EXPO 2005 AICHI. The Global
House, where the mammoth is to be displayed,
will also feature a huge seamless screen,
the biggest in the world, and a brand-new
super-high-definition video system to
show gripping images ranging from the
universe at its birth to the Earth of
today.
The Koi (Carp) Pond in the Nagakute Area
will be the site of a night program planned
by producer Robert Wilson. This will offer
an occasion for learning from Nature’s
Wisdom, experiencing ideas for a new twenty-first-century
civilization, and enjoying dreams of a
wonderful future.
Expo Plaza, also in the Nagakute Area,
will feature a system using cutting-edge
video networking technology to allow countries,
international institutions, nonprofit
and nongovernmental organizations, and
citizens from around the world to share
their ideas about “What We Want to
Share across Borders and Generations.”
At the NGO Global Village in the same
area, NGOs and nonprofit groups will offer
visitors a place to enjoy learning about
the current state of the Earth.
Meanwhile, the Japanese national government
and local governments have revealed the
overall plans for their pavilions. The Government
Pavilion in the Nagakute Area will present
measures to resolve various issues in the
twenty-first century. The Nagakute Area
Aichi Prefectural Pavilion will focus on
the creation of environmentally friendly
new industries tapping Aichi Prefecture’s
rich manufacturing tradition. The Seto Area
Aichi Prefectural Pavilion will have as
its theme “Heart and Breath of the
Forest: Place for Discovery in Nature,”
inviting visitors to experience the connections
between people and the natural world around
them. Other local government pavilions will
include one for the City of Nagoya and one
for the nine prefectures of the Chubu region
(Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Mie, Nagano,
Shiga, Shizuoka, and Toyama). |
A
great forum for interaction
How about the outlook for participation
in the exposition from outside of Japan?
As of September 9, 2003, the Japan Association
for the 2005 World Exposition had received
official notification of plans to participate
from a remarkable 125 countries and international
organizations. This represents a new high
for an exposition held in Japan, topping
the previous record set by the International
Garden and Greenery Exposition held in Osaka
in 1990.
Advance ticket sales began on September
25, 2003. For the first time at an international
exposition, the admission tickets have been
designed to include a tiny 0.4-millimeter-square
smart chip, which will be used to provide
a variety of services for visitors.
Now that the plans for EXPO 2005 AICHI have
come into clearer view, we feel all the
more impatient as we await March 25, 2005,
when the countdown will end and the six-month
exposition will begin. |
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