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The Mainichi
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
News in Easy English: Blue Impulse team flies over Osaka Expo, pilot reaches childhood dream
OSAKA -- The Blue Impulse aerobatics team from Japan's Air Self-Defense Force flew over the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, on July 12 and 13. Their first show in April was canceled because of bad weather, so this was their new chance to perform. One pilot, Shoya Matsuura, 30, is from Suita in Osaka Prefecture. Suita is famous for the "Tower of the Sun," a big symbol from the 1970 Osaka Expo. When Matsuura was a child, he saw Blue Impulse fly and decided he wanted to be a pilot. After flying at the Expo, he said, "I've achieved a lifetime goal." The team took off from Kansai International Airport and flew over famous places like Tsutenkaku Tower, Osaka Castle, and the Tower of the Sun. Over the Expo site, they made white smoke shapes in the sky, like hearts and the number "8," and did special flying tricks for 15 minutes. After the flight, Matsuura said, "It was amazing." He was happy to see his hometown from the sky and wondered if his friends were watching. Before flying, the team checked the weather, the airport, and their flight plan. Matsuura smiled as he got ready to make the smoke shapes. After the two-day show, Matsuura said he hoped people enjoyed the flights, and that flying over the place where he grew up was unforgettable. (Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Izumisano Resident Bureau) Vocabulary aerobatics: special flying tricks done by airplanes pilot: a person who flies an airplane briefing: a meeting to talk about plans before doing something artificial island: an island made by people, not by nature unforgettable: something you will always remember achieve: to reach a goal or dream landmark: a famous place or building
The Mainichi
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Osaka-native SDF pilot makes dream come true in Blue Impulse flights over Expo site
OSAKA -- The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF)'s Blue Impulse aerobatics team showcased its aerial performances above areas around the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, venue July 12 and 13 after the original flight schedule in April on the Expo's opening day was canceled due to bad weather. One pilot in particular had special feelings about flying the jet as a Blue Impulse member. ASDF pilot Shoya Matsuura, 30, is from Suita, Osaka Prefecture, home to the iconic "Tower of the Sun," the symbol of the 1970 Osaka Expo. He saw the Blue Impulse team's performance about 15 years ago and decided to become a pilot. Making his childhood dream come true, Matsuura commented, "I've achieved a lifetime goal." The team took the same flight route on both days, taking off from Kansai International Airport around 2:40 p.m., passing landmarks such as Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka's Naniwa Ward and Osaka Castle in Chuo Ward, before flying over the Tower of the Sun. From around 3 p.m., a 15-minute aerial display took place over the artificial island of Yumeshima, the Expo site. The aircraft emitted white smoke, creating heart shapes and the number "8," and performed aerobatic flights, including ascending in a widening spiral. "It was amazing," Matsuura said after the flight on July 12. Reflecting on flying over Suita, he commented, "I was happy to have the rare opportunity to see my hometown from the sky. I wondered if my friends were watching." Before boarding the aircraft on the second day, the team held a briefing where pilots reviewed weather conditions, the runway at Kansai International Airport, flight altitude, scheduled performances at the Expo site and the flight route. Matsuura smiled while confirming the timing for the smoke release. After successfully completing the momentous two-day stunt, Matsuura stated, "I hope there was a moment that moved the hearts of those who watched the flights. Flying over the area near the Tower of the Sun where I grew up was an unforgettable sight." (Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Izumisano Resident Bureau)
Japan Times
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
ASDF's Blue Impulse set for Osaka Expo performance
The Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatics team will make a performance flight for the World Exposition in Osaka on its opening day of April 13. "This is a crucial opportunity to show our performance to people around the world," Lt. Col. Suguru Ejiri, who leads the flying team, said in an interview. "We want to make this flight something in which people can feel the themes of the Expo." Blue Impulse flew for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka Prefecture as well, during which the team drew "EXPO 70" in the sky. The team, based in the city of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, will fly above Osaka for the first time in 35 years, since the International Garden and Greenery Exposition in 1990. For the opening ceremony of that event, Blue Impulse drew an enormous flower with contrails. Ejiri declined to disclose details of the upcoming Osaka Expo performance but said, "We want to make this flight based on the Expo themes of lives, the future and connecting the world." In deciding its performances, Blue Impulse considers requests from organizers and the themes of events. Last March, Blue Impulse aircraft flew in a line just like a train to commemorate the launch of an extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line. Capt. Shoya Matsuura, pilot of the third aircraft in the Blue Impulse team, looks forward to flying in his home prefecture of Osaka. He had dreamed of becoming an ASDF pilot while he was still in junior high school. | Jiji The same year, Blue Impulse drew a "grand cross" in the sky above the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, which has a UNESCO World Heritage site related to Christianity. "Our goal is to do a performance that can lead to the success of Expo," Ejiri said. "We want people to look up at the sky so they can have wonderful memories." Capt. Shoya Matsuura, a 30-year-old pilot of the team's third aircraft, is from the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture, where the 1970 Osaka Expo took place. The Expo'70 Commemorative Park, which hosts the Tower of the Sun monument, is located along the route of his regular training runs. He learned about Blue Impulse when he was a junior high school student and became an ASDF pilot in 2018. With stints in Blue Impulse limited to three years, he timed his application to join the team to coincide with this year's expo. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Matsuura said. "I will make all efforts for the flight (performance) to be memorable."
