Envisioning Future Society: A Deep Dive into the Expo’s Core Theme, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” [Part 2: Theme Explanation]

In our previous article, we introduced the overview of the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 and its central theme: “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” This time, we will delve even deeper into this grand theme, explaining in detail the vision of the future society that the Expo aims to create, and the specific approaches required to realize it.

Revisiting What “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” Means

When you hear the phrase “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” what kind of society do you imagine? Is it a world free from disease and poverty, where everyone can live long and healthy lives? Or is it a society where AI and robots assist human work, allowing people to focus on creative activities? Perhaps it’s a society where diverse cultures and values are respected, and everyone can live authentically.

There probably isn’t one single answer. The “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” envisioned by the Osaka-Kansai Expo is an incredibly broad and profound concept that includes all these elements, and potentially more. What is crucial is the polysemy of the word “life.” As we mentioned in the last article, here, “life” does not refer merely to biological life (Life). It is used as a term encompassing daily living (Living) and the entire lifespan of every individual (Lives).

In essence, this theme is an appeal for people worldwide to collaboratively design a society where each individual can live—with sound mind and body—in a safe and secure environment, maximizing their potential and realizing happiness. It doesn’t just pursue technological advancement; it raises fundamental questions concerning human society, such as ethics, values, social systems, and harmony with the global environment.

Three Subthemes: A Compass for the Future

Guiding this grand theme and deepening the discussion are the following three subthemes. Let’s take a closer look at what challenges each subtheme addresses and what kind of future it aims to achieve.

1. Saving Lives: Protecting Life from Crisis

This subtheme focuses literally on protecting human lives from various threats. Modern society still faces numerous “crises to life.”

• Combating Infectious Diseases: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the persistent threat of infectious diseases in a globalized world. There is an urgent need for preparedness against future pandemics, including vaccine development, establishing treatments, rapid testing systems, and building international information sharing networks. The Expo will likely showcase the latest infectious disease research, AI-powered prediction systems, and remote medical technologies.
• Preparedness for Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and floods are challenges that seem inherent to Japan. Due to climate change, disasters tend to become more severe and frequent. Comprehensive disaster prevention and mitigation measures are required, including advanced prediction technology, robust infrastructure, rapid evacuation and rescue systems, and post-disaster recovery support. Exhibits may feature disaster response robots, information gathering using drones, and AI damage prediction.
• Extending Healthy Lifespan and High-Quality Healthcare: As the population ages, it is crucial not just to live longer, but to extend the period of healthy, independent life—the “healthy lifespan.” Advanced medical technologies and healthcare services like preventive medicine, personalized medicine (treatment based on genomic information), regenerative medicine, care robots, and online consultations hold the key to solving this challenge.
• Food Security and Nutritional Improvement: Global population growth and climate change affect the stable supply of food. Sustainable agricultural technologies (smart farming, plant factories), alternative proteins (cultured meat, insect food), and food waste reduction techniques are vital themes for supporting future food systems.

“Saving Lives” aims to build a foundation where everyone can live without worry by confronting various risks that threaten life using all means—including science, technology, social systems, and international cooperation.

2. Empowering Lives: Unlocking Potential

This subtheme focuses on supporting people to unlock their inherent potential and lead richer, more fulfilling lives. The word “empowering” carries a broader meaning than just education or skill improvement; it encompasses self-actualization and the pursuit of happiness.

• Learning and Working in the 100-Year Lifespan Era: With increased life expectancy, people’s life courses are diversifying. There is a need for an environment that supports lifelong learning (recurrent education) and flexible work styles, rather than traditional, uniform educational systems or career paths, enabling adaptation to a changing society. Online education platforms, AI-powered career counseling, and metaverses used as virtual offices may present future models of learning and working.
• Coexistence with AI and Robots: The evolution of AI and robotics is set to drastically change our lives and work. Beyond automating simple tasks, the application of AI will advance in creative fields and decision-making. The goal is to explore a society where humans master AI and robots, allowing them to concentrate on more human activities, or a society where humans and AI collaborate to generate new value.
• Diversity and Inclusion (D&I): There is a demand for an inclusive society where everyone is respected and can participate as members of the community, regardless of gender, age, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Barrier-free design, multilingual technologies, and communication tools that foster understanding of diverse values support this realization.
• Pursuit of Well-being: The focus is shifting towards holistic well-being—encompassing mental fulfillment, good human relationships, and self-actualization—not just economic wealth. Techniques to measure and improve individual happiness, mechanisms that promote community connection, and mental healthcare support are key future themes.

“Empowering Lives” aims to create a society where every individual’s infinite potential is unleashed and everyone can shine authentically, through education, technology, and social systems.

3. Connecting Lives: Bridging Divides for Coexistence

This subtheme focuses on strengthening “connections” at all levels—individuals, communities, nations, and the planet—to promote mutual understanding and cooperation. While globalization advances, social division and isolation are also deepening, making the reconstruction of “connection” urgent.

• New Communication: The internet and SNS have dramatically changed human connections, but they have also given rise to problems like slander and fake news. Immersive remote communication using VR/AR technology, automatic translation that overcomes language barriers, and new interfaces that allow for deeper emotional and intentional exchange may enable more constructive, empathy-based communication.
• Cultural Diversity and Mutual Understanding: The world is home to diverse cultures, languages, and values. Deepening understanding of different cultures and respecting differences forms the foundation of a peaceful and prosperous coexisting society. The Expo provides an ideal opportunity for global culture convergence, allowing visitors to encounter new cultures and gain new insights through pavilions and cultural events from various nations.
• Data Linkage and Knowledge Sharing: To solve complex societal challenges, linking data and sharing knowledge across disciplinary and organizational boundaries is essential. Platforms are being built that link data from various fields—such as medicine, transportation, and energy—while respecting privacy, to generate new insights and services. Open science and citizen-participatory data collection/analysis are also important initiatives.
• Connection with the Planet (Sustainability): Human activity has a massive impact on the global environment. To achieve a sustainable society, we must re-examine our “connection” with the planet—through climate change countermeasures, biodiversity conservation, and resource recycling—and transition toward a way of life in harmony with nature. The Expo venue itself will serve as a showcase for environmental technology, proposing sustainable lifestyles.

“Connecting Lives” aims to realize a sustainable and harmonious coexisting society by rebuilding and strengthening “connections” at every level, bringing together technology and human wisdom to overcome division and conflict.

People’s Living Lab: A Place to ‘Experience’ and ‘Co-create’ the Future

These themes and subthemes are not merely theoretical concepts. The Osaka-Kansai Expo positions the entire venue as a **”People’s Living Lab (Experimental Ground for Future Society)”**, aiming for visitors to actually “experience” future technologies and social systems, and then use the feedback gained to further “co-create” the future.

For example, next-generation mobility (flying cars or autonomous buses) will operate within the venue, allowing visitors to ride them. Furthermore, an AI-powered personal guide might direct guests to optimal exhibits and events tailored to their individual interests. It may also be possible to wear virtual reality (VR) goggles to experience landscapes in distant countries or stroll through future urban spaces.

These experiences are not just mere attractions. When visitors interact with future technologies and services, concrete opinions and thoughts emerge—such as, “This kind of future is wonderful,” or “It would be better if this area were improved.” The Expo plans to collect and analyze these “voices from the people” and feed them back to exhibiting companies and research institutions, accelerating technological development and social implementation. In short, every visitor becomes a “co-creator” participating in the design of future society.

Summary: Holding the Compass for the Future

In Part 2, we thoroughly explained the core theme of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” and its three subthemes: “Saving Lives,” “Empowering Lives,” and “Connecting Lives.” These themes reflect the challenges facing modern society and serve as a compass pointing toward the future society we should strive for. Furthermore, by functioning as a “People’s Living Lab,” the Expo expects us not just to wait for the future, but to actively experience and co-create it.

In our next installment, Part 3, we will focus on the “Pavilions”—the places where these themes are concretely embodied—and introduce what kind of surprises and discoveries await. We plan to feature a wealth of highlights, including unique signature pavilions and international pavilions where you can experience the cultures of various countries. Stay tuned!

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