Expo 2005

2005 Aichi Prefecture
Overview
BIE-classUniversal exposition
CategoryInternational Registered Exhibition
NameAi-chikyūhaku (愛・地球博)
MottoNature's Wisdom
Area173 hectares (430 acres)
Invention(s)ASIMO
Visitors22,049,544
Mascot"Morizo" Forest Grandfather and "Kiccoro" Forest Child
Participant(s)
Countries121
Organizations4
Location
CountryJapan
CityAichi Prefecture
VenueSeto and Nagakute
Coordinates35°10′34.2″N 137°5′26.5″E / 35.176167°N 137.090694°E / 35.176167; 137.090694
Timeline
Bidding1988
AwardedJune 12, 1997 (1997-06-12)
OpeningMarch 25, 2005 (2005-03-25)
ClosureSeptember 25, 2005 (2005-09-25)
Universal expositions
PreviousExpo 2000 in Hannover
NextExpo 2010 in Shanghai
Specialized expositions
PreviousExpo '98 in Lisbon
NextExpo 2008 in Zaragoza
Horticultural expositions
PreviousExpo 2003 in Rostock
NextExpo 2006 in Chiang Mai

Expo 2005 was a world expo[1] held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo), Expo '85 Tsukuba (Specialised Expo), and Expo '90 Osaka (Horticultural Expo)[2] and will host Expo 2025 Osaka (World Expo).[3] The site of the expo would become the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park after it ended and is now the home of Ghibli Park.

Theme

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The theme of the Expo was "Nature's Wisdom", with national and corporate pavilions expressing themes of ecological co-existence, renewable technology, and the wonders of nature. In Japanese, this is rendered as Ai-chikyūhaku (愛・地球博), which means (roughly) "Love the Earth Expo," as well as being a play on the name of the host prefecture, 愛知 (Aichi). According to the official website:

We must come together and share our experience and wisdom, in order to create a new direction for humanity which is both sustainable and harmonious with nature.

Location

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The main site of the Expo was a forested area in Nagakute, east of Nagoya, covering an area of about 1.73 square kilometres (430 acres). A smaller area of 0.15 square kilometres (37 acres) nearby, accessible by gondola from the main site near Seto was also part of the Expo. Great care was taken to build the pavilions out of recycled or recyclable materials, to minimize environmental impact on the site, and to provide environmentally friendly transportation to and within the Expo area.

The cost of the Expo has been estimated at 340 billion yen ($3.3 billion). However, the recorded 22,049,544 visitors greatly exceeded the target of 15,000,000 and the Expo made a profit of over 10 billion yen.

The nearby city of Toyota also held some related events, although there was no special area set aside.

The area in Nagakute can be reached from Nagoya by subway (Higashiyama line) to the last stop in Fujigaoka, followed by a ride on the newly built Linimo magnetic levitation train.

Participants

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121 Participants of countries set date for their own Pavilions.

Country Receipt of Announcement for Location National Day Aichi Hospitality Partner Participation (common)
Angola 2003/ 3/17 5 September 6. Haruhi Town
Argentina 2003/ 1/ 8 2 July 11 Okazaki City
Armenia 2003/ 6/17 4 June 7
Australia 2003/ 7/16 6 April 21 Anjo City (Japanese only) Obu City
Austria 2003/ 5/14 4 April 27 Kozakai Town
Azerbaijan 2003/ 4/14 4 May 17 Shippo Town
Bangladesh 2004/ 4/18 1 June 9 Nisshin City
Belgium 2003/ 1/23 4 June 14 Nagakute Town
Belize 2003/ 2/21 2 August 19 (SICA) Miyoshi Town (Japanese only)
Benin 2001/10/11 5 September 21 Ichinomiya Town
Bhutan 2001/ 6/20 1 June 2 Handa City
Bolivia 2001/ 5/11 2 August 5 Toei Town
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2003/ 6/ 9 3 Ichinomiya City
Brunei Darussalam 2003/ 7/19 6 May 18 Takahama City (Japanese Only)
Bulgaria 2002/10/28 4 May 13 Toyoake City
Burkina Faso 2003/ 6/19 5 June 16 Konan City
Burundi 2001/12/21 5 September 12 Isshiki Town (Japanese Only)
Cambodia 2002/10/ 9 6 May 10 Kota Town (Japanese Only)
Cameroon 2001/12/26 5 June 21 Tsushima City
Canada 2001/ 5/ 2 2 April 5 Kasugai City (English) (Portuguese) (Chinese) (Filipino) Kariya City
Chad 2001/ 8/29 5 June 8 Aisai City
China 2002/ 8/28 1 May 19 Toyohashi City
Congo 2003/ 4/ 7 5 September 14 Seto City
Costa Rica 2003/ 3/31 2 August 19 (SICA) Tsugu Village (Japanese only)
Côte d'Ivoire 2002/ 7/ 5 5 August 3 Anjo City (Japanese only)
Croatia 2003/ 5/27 3 April 12 Hekinan City
Cuba 2002/ 5/ 9 2 July 26 Iwakura City
Czech Republic 2002/ 1/ 4 4 June 24 Otowa Town
Democratic Republic of Congo 2003/ 2/ 4 5 May 31 Obu City
Denmark 2003/ 6/13 4 April 20 Anjo City (Japanese only)
Djibouti 2002/12/26 5 June 28 Kariya City
Dominican Republic 2003/ 2/ 6 2 May 25 Atsumi Town
Ecuador 2003/ 6/30 2 August 10 Komaki City (Japanese only)
Egypt 2003/ 1/14 5 July 22 Kira Town (Japanese only)
El Salvador 2003/ 3/31 2 August 19 (SICA) Nishiharu Town
Eritrea 2004/ 1/30 5 June 10 (W / Rwanda) Inuyama City
Ethiopia 2003/ 3/ 3 5 May 16 Horai Town
Fiji 2003/11/24 6 June 22 Taketoyo Town (Japanese only)
Finland 2003/ 6/25 4 May 12 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
France 2002/ 3/27 3 April 14 Seto City

Jushiyama Village

Gabon 2003/ 3/ 7 5 July 12 Aisai City
Georgia 2002/ 4/23 4 September 22 Kasugai City (English) (Portuguese) (Chinese) (Filipino)
Germany 2002/ 9/20 3 April 13 Inuyama City. Toyohashi City
Ghana 2001/ 9/ 2 5 June 30 Ichinomiya Town
Greece 2002/10/15 3 May 20 Inazawa City (Japanese only)
Guatemala 2003/ 3/24 2 August 19 (SICA) Handa City
Guinea 2001/10/19 5 August 26 Inazawa City (Japanese only)
Honduras 2003/ 6/13 2 August 19 (SICA) Toyohashi City
Iceland 2003/ 6/17 4 July 15 Chiryu City
India 2001/12/10 1 July 20 Kariya City
Indonesia 2002/ 8/ 6 6 August 17 Togo Town (Japanese only)
Iran 2002/ 5/29 1 April 1 Jushiyama Village
Ireland 2003/ 7/18 4 March 31 Kiyosu City (Japanese only)
Italy 2003/ 5/21 3 April 28 Ichinomiya City
Jordan 2002/11/27 3 July 5 Kasugai City (English) (Portuguese) (Chinese) (Filipino)
Kazakhstan 2002/11/11 1 June 15 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Kenya 2002/ 4/15 5 August 18 Higashiura Town (Japanese only)
Kiribati 2002/ 3/19 6 August 15 (W / Tuvalu) Ichinomiya Town Obu City
Kyrgyzstan 2001/ 6/29 1 August 4 Tomiyama Village
Lao People's Democratic Republic 2002/ 1/14 6 June 13 Tahara City
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2003/ 3/24 3 April 7 Tahara City
Lithuania 2002/ 4/10 4 July 6 Toyohashi City
Madagascar 2003/ 4/ 1 5 May 30 Nukata Town
Malaysia 2003/ 6/ 9 6 August 31 Tokoname City
Mali 2003/ 5/ 5 5 September 1 Jimokuji Town
Marshall Islands 2003/ 8/29 6 Tobisihma Village (Japanese only)
Mauritania 2001/ 8/22 5 July 14 Nishio City (Japanese only)
Mexico 2002/11/ 6 2 September 15 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Micronesia 2003/11/27 6 August 22 Konan City
Mongolia 2002/ 4/18 1 May 27 Kanie Town (Japanese only)
Morocco 2003/ 4/ 4 3 July 1 Toyoyama Town (Japanese only)
Nepal 2001/12/ 6 1 July 7 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Netherlands 2003/ 9/ 5 4 April 19 Yatomi City (Japanese only)
New Zealand 2003/ 9/ 9 6 June 3 Ichinomiya City

Nishio City

(Japanese only)
Nicaragua 2003/ 3/20 2 August 19(SICA) Oguchi Town (Japanese only)
Nigeria 2003/ 4/10 5 August 23 Oguchi Town (Japanese only)
Norway 2003/ 7/ 3 4 April 11 Inazawa City (Japanese only)
Pakistan 2003/ 4/25 1 August 11 Tsushima City
Palau 2003/ 7/29 6 July 8 Nissin City
Panama 2003/ 6/13 2 August 19 (SICA) Aisai City
Papua New Guinea 2003/ 3/28 6 September 16 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Peru 2003/ 3/28 2 July 28 Toyokawa City
Philippines 2003/ 3/ 7 6 September 20 Toyokawa City
Poland 2002/ 8/23 4 May 9 Gamagori City (Japanese only)
Portugal 2003/ 3/25 4 May 24 Oharu Town (Japanese only)
Qatar 2003/ 3/23 1 September 2 Chita City
Republic of Korea 2002/ 3/ 8 1 May 11 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol) Shikatsu Town
Romania 2002/ 4/23 4 June 1 Minamichita Town
Russian Federation 2002/ 5/28 4 June 17 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Rwanda 2002/10/23 5 June 10 (W / Eritrea) Kiyosu City (Japanese only)
Samoa 2003/ 6/13 6 August 30 Shitara Town (Japanese only)
São Tomé and Príncipe 2003/ 6/11 5 July 21 Tokai City (Japanese only)
Saudi Arabia 2001/ 8/ 8 1 September 9 Toyone Village (Japanese only)
Senegal 2003/ 3/ 6 5 April 8 Fuso Town (Japanese only)
Singapore 2001/10/13 6 August 9 Mihama Town (Japanese only)
Solomon Islands 2003/ 9/15 6 July 13 Agui Town (Japanese only)
South Africa 2003/ 8/13 5 April 26 Aisai City
Spain 2001/ 5/24 3 July 25 Kiyosu City (Japanese only)
Sri Lanka 2002/ 5/28 1 July 27 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
Sudan 2003/10/12 5 August 16 Kasugai City (English) (Portuguese) (Chinese) (Filipino) Kariya City
Sweden 2003/ 6/26 4 April 6 Okazaki City
Switzerland 2001/12/19 4 April 15 Shinshiro City (Japanese only)
Tajikistan 2003/ 4/ 7 1 September 13 Shikatsu Town
Thailand 2003/ 3/10 6 August 12 Inazawa City (Japanese only)
Tonga 2003/ 1/15 6 July 4 Owariasahi City
Tunisia 2002/12/19 3 June 23 Seto City
Turkey 2002/12/19 3 August 2 Tokai City (Japanese only)
Tuvalu 2003/12/29 6 August 15 (W / Kiribati) Cita City
Uganda 2001/ 5/24 5 September 7 Kiyosu City (Japanese only)
Ukraine 2002/11/12 4 August 24 Hazu City (Japanese only)
UK 2003/ 7/19 4 April 22 Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol)
United Republic of Tanzania 2002/ 2/19 5 May 26 Komaki City (Japanese only)
US 2003/11/18 2 June 20 Toyohashi City Toyota City (English) (Portugues) (Espanol) Anjo City
Uzbekistan 2001/ 6/ 1 1 September 8 Ichinomiya City
Vanuatu 2003/11/10 6 August 1 Gamagori City (Japanese only)
Venezuela 2003/ 4/11 2 June 29 Toyohashi City
Viet Nam 2002/ 9/16 6 September 5 Miwa Town
Yemen 2002/ 5/ 6 1 May 23 Nishio City (Japanese only)
Zambia 2003/10/28 5 July 19 Okazaki City
Zimbabwe 2003/ 7/14 5 April 18 Mito Town

In regards to the companies & municipality, the ones who were present are as follows:

  • Expo with the Corporate Pavilions in the background
    Expo with the Corporate Pavilions in the background
  • "Wonder Circus", the Electric Power Pavilion
    "Wonder Circus", the Electric Power Pavilion
  • PokéPark 2005 at De La Fantasia
    PokéPark 2005 at De La Fantasia

Mascots

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Morizo and Kiccoro on flower wall

Morizo (モリゾー) and Kiccoro (キッコロ), collectively known as "Moricoro," (モリコロ) were created to be Aichi Banpaku's mascots. The popular fluffy green creatures are both from the forest of Seto.

Attractions

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  • "Satsuki and Mei's House," was a recreation of the house from Hayao Miyazaki's movie My Neighbor Totoro, and located inside the “Forest Experience Zone”. It re-opened to the public on July 15, 2006 and would spark the creation of an entire Ghibli Park, which opened in 2022.
  • ASIMO, Honda's humanoid robot, was shown off at the Expo as one of its many public appearances.
  • The Toyota Partner Robots made their debut.
  • Chickens Suit a clothing range for chickens by Edgar Honetschläger made its debut with chickens on a runway.
  • The Growing Village Pavilion featured a variety of tree shaping art work.
  • The Franklin Spirit[4] at the USA Pavilion, designed by award-winning experience designer Bob Rogers and the design team BRC Imagination Arts,[5] presented the American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, using an innovative multi-plane 3D effect that suspended layered planes of digital media on stage, where Franklin visited the world of 2005 to celebrate his 300th birthday, as he discussed the pending advances in science, technology freedom and enterprise that will improve the lives of people worldwide.[6]
  • The Forest Experience Zone contains three areas, the ‘Nature School Forest’, ‘Satsuki and Mei’s House’, and the ‘Japanese Garden’. This forest explores the relationship between people and nature.
  • The Street Art experience was performed in the park by multi artists, giants reproductions art exhibited open air. The French artist Gailord Bovrisse was one of them.

Theme songs

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The official theme song of the Expo was "I'll Be Your Love," composed by Yoshiki, and performed by Dahlia, an Okinawan-American musician (then aged 24) from Honolulu, Hawaii.[7] On March 24, 2005, Yoshiki conducted an orchestra and performed the song for the opening ceremony of the Expo.[8] Pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki also performed a classical version of her single "A Song Is Born" on the event's opening day.[9]

New transportation system

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Holder

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The holder was Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition whose president was Shoichiro Toyoda, the honorary president of Toyota Motor Corporation.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "List of World Expos". Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Japan and Expos". Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "World Expo 2025 Osaka". Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "The Franklin Spirit". www.imdb.com.
  5. ^ "Aichi World Expo 2005 U.S. Pavilion" (PDF). BRC Imagination Arts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  6. ^ "Skyline Thrill for Sentosa Visitors". Today (Singapore). November 5, 2005.
  7. ^ "公式イメージソング | EXPO 2005 AICHI, JAPAN". www.expo2005.or.jp. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  8. ^ "愛･地球博 イメージソングを元X JAPANのYOSHIKI氏に依頼". www.expo2005.or.jp. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  9. ^ "特集 | EXPO 2005 AICHI, JAPAN". www.expo2005.or.jp. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
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