VOX POPULI: Tokyo Expo that never was still echoes Japan's war history
An English-language pamphlet of the 1940 Tokyo Expo (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A short walk from The Asahi Shimbun's head office in Tokyo's Tsukiji district brings you to the striking silhouette of Kachidokibashi bridge.
I crossed the iconic double-leaf bascule bridge, envisioning its former glory, when its massive steel girders would rise to grant passage to ships navigating the Sumidagawa river.
Completed in 1940, the bridge was built as a key access route to a grand international event scheduled for that year.
The event, known as the 'Grand International Exposition of Japan,' never came to fruition.
The main venue for the planned expo was set in a waterfront district that would later become known as Harumi and Toyosu, areas now defined by sleek residential towers and bustling commercial complexes.
Illustrations from the era envision a majestic spectacle: the bridge leading to an imposing front gate, flanked by a concert hall and a cinema.
Around 50 countries were expected to participate, with ambitious plans for interactive exhibits, including a diorama-based facility designed to let visitors 'travel the world.'
A circus was also scheduled to perform as part of the entertainment.
These details are chronicled in Shinichi Fuma's 'Maboroshi no Tokyo Gorin and Banpaku 1940' (The phantom Tokyo Olympics and Expo 1940).
The timing of the event was steeped in irony.
By the time Japan announced its plans to host the exposition, the military had already triggered the 1931 Manchurian Incident—a pretext for its invasion of northeastern China—and the nation had withdrawn from the League of Nations.
Despite these developments, the exposition was billed as a celebration of international peace, a claim that, in retrospect, feels more like a ceremonial gesture than a sincere objective.
Ultimately, escalating conflict with China led to the expo's cancellation.
A reader's letter, published in The Asahi Shimbun's Letters to the Editor section on May 18, shared a poignant discovery: an entrance ticket to the 1940 expo found among a grandfather's belongings.
One cannot help but wonder whether similar forgotten mementos still lie tucked away in attics and drawers.
In an acknowledgment of 'the weight of the history,' the ongoing Osaka Kansai Expo has chosen to allow original 1940 tickets to be exchanged for a day pass.
What is the true purpose of a world expo?
In earlier eras, it was a stage for displaying national power. During times of rapid economic growth, it fueled a collective yearning for the future.
What message, then, should the latest expo impart?
Crossing the Kachidokibashi bridge, I wandered through a cluster of towering condominiums.
I came upon an unassuming signboard there.
It marked the site where the administrative headquarters of the 1940 Tokyo Expo once stood. It is one of the few remnants of a dream that never came to pass.
—The Asahi Shimbun, May 19
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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