The Deputy Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Dimitri Kerkentzes, is conducting a working visit to Japan to discuss the bid project to organise World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

The Deputy Secretary General of the BIE, Dimitri Kerkentzes with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe

The purpose of the visit is for national and local authorities in Japan to build on their bid project and to prepare for the Enquiry Mission, a formal visit of a BIE delegation in early 2018. Representatives of the Expo bid committee are taking this opportunity to present key aspects of the bid dossier, which was submitted to the BIE in September 2017.

In Tokyo on 4-5 December, Mr. Kerkentzes held meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, and with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko. He was also received by representatives of Diet Members supporting Japan’s Expo bid, and by the Chairman of the 2025 Japan World Expo Committee, Keidanren Chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara.

Rendering of the proposed site of Expo 2025 Osaka

On 6 December, Mr. Kerkentzes will travel to Kyoto, where he will visit the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, before going to Osaka, where he will be received by Ichiro Matsui, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, and by Hirofumi Yoshimura, the Mayor of Osaka. The visit will also include a tour of Yumeshima Island, the proposed site of Expo 2025 Osaka, as well as the Knowledge Capital business centre.

This preliminary visit comes ahead of the BIE Enquiry Mission, which will include the Secretary General of the BIE, Vicente G. Loscertales, and which will be led by the Chairman of the BIE’s Executive Committee, Jai-chul Choi. Members of the Enquiry Mission will assess the feasibility and viability of the Expo project, a necessary step for the candidature to go further in the selection process.

Japan is one of four countries seeking to host World Expo 2025, alongside France (Greater Paris), Russia (Ekaterinburg), and Azerbaijan (Baku). Member States of the BIE will elect the host country during the 164th General Assembly in November 2018.