Latest news with #YoshitakaIto
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
Ainu Dances Performed at Osaka Expo
News from Japan Society May 17, 2025 20:47 (JST) Osaka, May 17 (Jiji Press)--Traditional dances of the Ainu indigenous ethnic group in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, were performed on Saturday at the ongoing 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka. More than 200 people from 24 related organizations in Hokkaido and elsewhere demonstrated various dances, music and rituals in three shows on the day. The event was organized by the Foundation for Ainu Culture to express the Ainu belief that the world exists thanks to all beings, not only humans, which grow and support each other. "I hope visitors experience the various attractions of Ainu culture and embrace the ideal of interethnic harmony," Yoshitaka Ito, state minister in charge of the expo, said in a speech. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
13-05-2025
- Business
1 Month On, Angola, Nepal Pavilions Not Open at Osaka Expo
Osaka, May 13 (Jiji Press)--The pavilions of Angola and Nepal at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, western Japan, are not open a month after the Expo began on April 13. Of the two, the Angola Pavilion opened on the first day of the Expo, but closed the next day for technical reasons. It is now expected to receive this week an inspection necessary to open, informed sources said. "I think (the Angola Pavilion) is not very far from reopening," Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said at a press conference on Monday. Meanwhile, construction of the Nepal Pavilion has been suspended since January due to unpaid construction costs, and its completion is uncertain. At a press conference on Tuesday, Yoshitaka Ito, Japan's minister in charge of the 2025 Expo, said that construction bills for some foreign pavilions have not been paid, without naming the countries. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Japan Times
27-04-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
Remains of Ainu people in Britain to be returned to Japan
The Japanese government said Friday that the remains of three Ainu Indigenous people that were kept at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland will be returned to Japan. The three skulls are set to arrive at Hokkaido on May 3, after a handover ceremony at the university Wednesday. They will be placed at a memorial facility at the National Ainu Museum and Park, or Upopoy, in the Hokkaido town of Shiraoi. It is the third time that the remains of Ainu people that were taken abroad for research purposes have been returned to Japan, following the 2017 return from Germany and the 2023 return from Australia. The remains of the three Ainu people were given to the university in 1913 from a British doctor living in Japan. The university's possession of the remains came to light in 2023, prompting Tokyo to ask for their return. Records say that the remains were unearthed in "Okoshi," "Urakawa" and "Kushiro," which the government believes are the locations with the same geographical names in present-day Hokkaido. In Britain, three more sets of Ainu remains and an additional 10 sets that may be Ainu have been confirmed at the Natural History Museum in London. The government will continue to call on the museum to accept research on the remains and return them. Also on Friday, the government released the results of an awareness survey regarding the Ainu that covered 3,000 people in Japan aged 18 or older. Only 28.4% of the respondents replied that they have any experience or contact with Ainu people or culture. "Keeping Ainu people's sentiment in mind, we'll strive to promote related measures steadily," Yoshitaka Ito, minister in charge of Ainu-related policies, told a press conference.
Japan Times
20-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Osaka Expo struggles with drawing visitors and managing crowds
The 2025 World Exposition in Osaka faces the dual challenge of dealing with large crowds and attracting visitors one week after its April 13 opening. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is rushing to adopt measures ahead of the Golden Week holiday period from later this month, which the organizer believes will provide a litmus test for event operations. The Osaka Expo drew some 119,000 visitors on the opening day, when wireless network outages occurred, forcing the association to improve communications facilities. Long lines formed in front of entrance gates as a communications failure left many unable to access their electronic admission tickets on their smartphones. Two-hour queues built up at pavilions that didn't require advance reservations. "We will make constant improvements every day and try to ensure comfortable experiences," Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general of the association, told a news conference on the second day of the Expo. The organizer first worked on improving connectivity, setting up Wi-Fi networks at gates and having large mobile phone carriers deploy mobile base station vehicles. The association also called on visitors to print out or take screenshots of the quick response, or QR, codes on their e-tickets in advance. It also asked pavilions that did not require reservations to introduce reservation systems or hand out numbered entry tickets. The Irish pavilion switched to a ticketing system from the second day of the Expo after a long line formed on the opening day, while the U.S. pavilion adopted a reservation system Saturday. To prevent heat stroke, the association installed cooling mist dispensers, equipment that blows cool air, and water stations, and also added more shade with parasols and tents. Meanwhile, since Monday, the Expo's second day, weekday attendance has been about half of the opening day figure, ranging from 40,000 to just over 70,000. As of Friday, the total number of visitors stood at around 410,000 — or about 510,000 inc The organizer has said that it expects 28.2 million people to visit the Expo, or 150,000 visitors per day, well above the current figures. The number of visitors on weekdays is "far from enough," Yoshitaka Ito, minister in charge of the 2025 Osaka Expo, told a news conference Friday. "We want to engage in planning and event promotion more and more."
