Nipponica

The Osaka Healthcare Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo is getting a lot of criticism over its English name — “Nest for Reborn” — which some native speakers say is grammatically incorrect.

However, many native English speakers have said the name is a little strange. In English, the preposition “for” should be followed by a noun, but “reborn” is an adjective, making it difficult for readers to understand the meaning of the pavilion’s name.

When officials of participating countries met in Nara City in June, “Nest for Reborn” was discussed in private conversations as “confusing English wording.” An official from Europe said the name is grammatically incorrect and not suitable for the event.

Less than half of foreign workers and students in Japan's rural areas want to remain in their current region when seeking employment or changing jobs, according to the analysis, compiled by Global Power, an operator of the job search and recruitment site NINJA for highly skilled foreign workers and students.

The company analyzed data from its 42,000 registered users as of May, focusing on their current addresses and desired employment locations.

Among those whose current residence matches their desired employment location, Tokyo leads the way with 51.7%, followed by the prefectures of Fukuoka at 51.5%, Aichi at 49.6% and Osaka at 48.8%. In contrast, Shimane is the lowest at 9.4%, followed by Kochi at 15.4%, Tokushima at 15.9% and Kagawa at 16%.

People want to live where the opprotunities are and the lack of development in rural Japan means no way to improve your wellbeing.

The pavilion's exterior adopts a minimalist design inspired by the Japanese traditional aesthetic of "wabi-sabi," featuring two triangular buildings with wooden facades juxtaposed by an illuminated, suspended cube.

Under the cube, visitors will find an open-air courtyard with a performance stage, allowing them to explore music, dance and other entertainment, as well as cuisine. Images to be shown at the pavilion are expected to include U.S. landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Grand Canyon.

Quite lack the design and the understatedness that is absent from many American monuments. Should be a good fit for an expo. Looking forward to seeing more pavilion designs to see if there is going to be a cohesive theme or architectural chaos.

On the morning of April 10 this year, when a chill remained in the air, Muslims gathered in a residential district of the Osaka Prefecture city of Ibaraki. They were there to celebrate Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Altogether, about 300 people from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions visited the two-story Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, which is adorned with golden decorations. During prayer, the mosque was so full that some prayed on the rooftop.

A good story of local residents accepting and befriending members of a minority community. More of this needs to happen throughout the country.

The maximum number of hourly slots at Kansai International Airport will expand from 45 to 60, and the maximum number of daily slots at Kobe Airport will increase from 80 to 120 under the agreement.

Kobe Airport awakens and seeks a purpose for its existence.

Forty-seven nations are currently planning to construct Type A self-built pavilions at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Initially, 60 nations planned to build Type A pavilions for the event, but many of them have faced difficulties in securing deals with contractors mainly due to soaring prices of construction materials.

Deadline: April 2025.

Thrill-seekers looking for an adrenaline hit can head to the iconic Tsutenkaku Tower in the western Japan city of Osaka, where a new obstacle course that involves leaping off the side of the major landmark opened this summer.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

According to a Mitsubishi Research Institute survey, 27% of respondents expressed an interest in visiting the Expo as of April this year, almost unchanged from the previous survey conducted in October 2023 and four points lower than in October 2022. The number of pre-ordered tickets sold was approximately 2.8 million as of June 19, or only 20% of the target.

This is unfortunate but not unexpected. As a bit of a World Expo nerd, I am really excited to visit simply because my mid-20th century utopian ideals still haven't been totally purged from my psyche. Events like the 1964 World Expo and places that ape the Expo ethos like 1980s EPCOT Center had an optimistic, global view of the future which is sadly rare nowadays. Expos have always been driven by a commercial drive for pavilion sponsors and business in the host city, but it could be much more than that. Hoping that Osaka can provide a unique experience that will drive people to visit.

SkyDrive sought to develop a flying taxi that can carry up to three people to showcase its technology at the expo as one of the event's main attractions, but it decided last month to withdraw the plan and only perform demo flights without passengers.

In the lawsuit, the man argued that his fear of persecution could be sufficiently recognized, and that he couldn't hope for protection in his home country. The government denied the credibility of his claim, and stated, "It cannot be accepted that there are fears he would be persecuted immediately," and called for his case to be dismissed.

While I am happy for this person for winning his safety in court, it is frustrating that the government, who is trying to boost immigration, fought so hard to send him back to his country of origin. While it is never cited which country he is from, homosexuality in many African countries is illegal and punishable by prison time or worse. Japan should be a beacon for the oppressed, not a wall to climb over.