Universal Expo

Economic and cultural success of the Italian Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025

Contracts and investments of almost EUR 1.8 billion were announced during the exhibition

13 October 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A strategic outpost for economic diplomacy and growth, the Italian Pavilion has organised a total of 791 events. 210 of these are of an economic nature, underlining the centrality of the Italian Pavilion as a tool for the promotion of Made in Italy and the internationalisation of Italian companies. Over 7,500 representatives of Italian, Japanese and foreign companies have been involved in business events in the Italian Pavilion in six months. These figures confirm the strong commitment and success of the Italian mission, which is called upon to follow up on the Italy-Japan Action Plan 2024-2027.

The numbers of success

As mentioned, of the 791 events 210 were economic, 410 cultural and 171 B2B meetings.

During the exhibition, contracts and investments worth a total of EUR 1.766 billion were signed and announced. These included new contracts by Danieli in Japan, investments by Ebara Corporation in Veneto, by NSG Group in Abruzzo and by DR Automobiles in Molise. NTT Italia also confirmed the expansion of a data centre in Milan with an estimated value of EUR 1.28 billion.

The Italian Pavilion also distinguished itself as a platform for economic and business diplomacy: 7,500 representatives of Italian, Japanese and international companies took part in meetings and business initiatives. A total of 1,300 official delegations visited the pavilion spaces.

Culture at the Centre

The cultural dimension played a central role, with 410 events and 184 shows hosted in the internal theatre, in collaboration with the Pasona Group. Concerts, exhibitions and performances involved Italian artists and institutions, including Giovanni Allevi, Roberto Bolle, Umbria Jazz and the Notte della Taranta. Italy is also the only nation to continue the exhibition beyond the official closure of Expo, with the exhibition Atlante Farnese and the Treasures of the Italy Pavilion from Expo 2025 Osaka at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, open until January 2026.

The Ministry of Education and Merit promoted a strategic partnership with the Italian Commissariat involving 60 university students, fostering academic and scientific cooperation with Japanese and Asian universities. In parallel, 19 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed between universities, research institutions and chambers of commerce in both countries.

Attendance and public interest have been constant. The Italian Pavilion has seen long daily queues and extensive media coverage: over 61 million views on social media and more than 11,000 articles and reports from Italian, Japanese and international media.

Lombardia a Expo Osaka, Vattani"Occasione per partnership strategiche"

Awards

The Pavilion has received numerous awards, but in particular the first prize in the Theme Development category for the BIE Awards at Expo 2025 Osaka: a sort of World Expo gold medal. The Italian Pavilion was also awarded the BIE Innovation Award thanks to the 'Docodemo Expo' project, which allowed hospitalised children to virtually visit the exhibition by means of mobile robots. It was also certified according to the UNI ISO 20121:2024 standard for sustainable event management, an award conferred by the RINA group for its commitment to environmental, educational and social issues.

The pavilion received four visits from the Japanese imperial family, an attention that underlines the institutional importance of the Italian participation. Eighteen regions out of twenty contributed with installations and thematic projects, within a programme shared with the Conference of Regions.

The success of the initiative was made possible by the joint work of the Presidency of the Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, ICE, the Italian Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate in Osaka, together with numerous public and private partners.

With the closure of the Osaka Expo, the Italian Pavilion confirmed itself as one of the most visited and active protagonists of the universal exhibition, with a presence capable of combining economic promotion, culture, sustainability and international cooperation.