The Osaka Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in western Japan will center around experiencing "futuristic urban life" and feature an attraction that can automatically diagnose the health of visitors as they ride it, local governments said Thursday.
The total cost of the project, including exhibition and operational costs, is expected to be about 16 billion yen ($143 million), with part of the building to remain permanently in use by private businesses after the expo, according to the draft basic plan drawn up by the city and prefectural governments of Osaka.
"We want to make the pavilion a place where people can feel the next era. We are also hoping to display miniature organs grown from iPS cells," Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said at a meeting to compile the plan, referring to induced pluripotent stem cells that can grow into any type of body tissue.
The theme of the Osaka Pavilion will be "Reborn," with a focus on health and medical care. The centerpiece will be the "Anti-aging Ride," a futuristic attraction in which visitors will have their biological information automatically analyzed as they ride up a spiral slope.
The organizers are considering use of the collected biometric data by public research institutes and private businesses, according to the draft basic plan.
Around 2.8 million people are expected to visit the pavilion, which will be a two-story building with a total floor space of about 9,000 square meters.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai will be held on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, from April 13 through Oct. 13 under the theme of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives."
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