2025.05.23
Interview with the Director of the Panasonic Group’s The Land of NOMO Pavilion
Showing Children How Possibilities Open Up by Changing the Way They Think and Feel: Michiko Ogawa, Executive Officer, Pavilion Director, The Land of NOMO, Panasonic Holdings Corporation
Series:
Our Contribution to the Bid for Hosting Osaka Kansai Expo as an Effort to Deliver a Bright Future to the Next Generation
Since Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan opened its doors, The Land of NOMO pavilion has been welcoming full crowds day after day. Among the visitors have been many elementary and junior high school students, whose radiant smiles continue to inspire us. This Expo is a national event boasting a record-breaking 158 participating countries and regions, the highest ever for an Expo held in Japan. Due to its scale, diverse guests from around Japan and around the world are flocking to the venue on Yumeshima Island. In line with Japan's traditional values and as the Panasonic Group, we are proud to deliver omotenashi (hospitality), guided by our Basic Business Philosophy of "the customer comes first."
My direct involvement with this Expo began with the final presentation for the Expo 2025 bid, held in Paris in November 2018. I was invited as a speaker due to my past experience as the head of corporate social responsibility and citizenship activities, with the expectation that I'd deliver a convincing message that hosting the Expo in Osaka would contribute to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. I was initially perplexed, because at the time I was in a field unrelated to the Expo. However, having grown up in Osaka and being part of Panasonic, a company deeply rooted in the region, I take pride in the Osaka area. So I decided to accept the role, believing that I would be honored if my personal story could make a difference. I was also driven by a desire to pass on, to the next generation, the still-vivid feeling of hope I felt as a child at Expo '70 in Osaka.
Harmony Between the Panasonic Group's Mission and the Expo's Philosophy
Following Japan's successful bid to host the Expo in Osaka, I drifted away from Expo matters for some time. But I returned to the project in April 2021, this time as the Panasonic Group's official representative for the event. It felt like a calling from above. Under the ownership of Group CEO Kusumi, we launched a cross-Group Expo Promotion Committee and began discussing our approach to this global occasion. The philosophy behind the Expo, defined by the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions as "showing prospects for the future," closely aligns with the Panasonic Group's mission, "realizing an ideal society with affluence both in matter and mind," articulated by the founder Konosuke Matsushita. We unanimously resolved to embody this shared spirit through our pavilion and to communicate our vision to the world.
Offering a Transformative Experience to Inspire Courageous Steps
To finalize the concept for our pavilion, we asked ourselves what an ideal future should look like, engaging in thoughtful, in-depth dialogue centered around the overarching theme of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan: Designing Future Society for Our Lives. Through this process, we arrived at the concept of "circulation," which is the idea that everything is connected—matter, minds, sustainability, and well-being. Human and natural activities interact and circle around each other in what we call a "720° cycle."
Within this cycle, people become aware of who they are, free their minds, and begin to collaborate with people around them, resulting in each person fully expressing their natural gifts and individuality. This accumulation of personal awakenings develops into the momentum that drives solutions to global societal challenges, helping to realize an ideal society. The objective of our pavilion is to become a place where children—the future leaders of society—feel encouraged by their transformative experience and take that crucial, courageous first step.
Incorporating 'Circulation' in Architecture and Design
The idea of circulation is not only woven into the visitor experience but is also embedded in the pavilion itself. Recycled materials such as iron and copper, reclaimed from used home appliances, have been used as primary structural components. Offcuts and scrap metals from our manufacturing sites have also been upcycled into valuable new products. These architectural choices reflect the Panasonic Group's historical commitment to recycling resources, nurtured through our business operations.
Mock-up exterior expressing "circulation" was assembled near the construction site for evaluation. On the left is the architect Yuko Nagayama (November 1, 2023)
The exterior design, fashioned by architect Yuko Nagayama, offers visitors an opportunity to set their minds free, inviting them to find themselves within the "cycle." The pavilion's façade is composed of 1,400 three-dimensional motifs inspired by the concept of "720° cycle." Their metal frame is covered with a membrane made of specially treated organdie (a lightweight, balanced plain weave material made of fine thread). Gracefully dancing in the wind, the surface of the pavilion constantly shifts its form like a living being. It never takes on the same shape twice, embodying an unprecedented architectural concept.
Fusion of the Virtual and the Real to Deliver a Lasting Experience
To express our philosophical message of "realizing an ideal society with affluence both in matter and mind" to children from around the world in an accessible way, we created an original animated film inspired by the experiences our pavilion provides. Through this visual storytelling, we seek to leave a lasting impression on children of The Land of NOMO's worldview and our message: "How you perceive and see things changes depending on how you hold your mind." In our pavilion, visitors can enjoy digital animation and then become immersed in the physical experience of another story set in The Land of NOMO. This approach of blending the virtual with the real is an experiment in connecting the two domains. We live in a time when digital and analog, virtual and real, are becoming increasingly intertwined. By presenting this fused experience as one of the many cycles in life that bridge the ordinary and the extraordinary, we hope to inspire visitors to see the numerous possibilities that lie ahead.
We warmly invite everyone to visit the pavilion and embrace the experience. There is a world beyond, with so much to discover and enjoy. Although we now live in an age where most everything can be done through a few taps on our smartphone, there are emotions and breathtaking moments that can only be felt through real, lived experiences. So I sincerely ask you to come and "feel" our message for yourself.
Original animated film "The Land of NOMO" concept image
"My hope is that by seeing the organdie sway in the breeze or gazing up at the sky through the motifs, children can let their imagination run wild and feel that they are part of the natural world that surrounds them."
Michiko Ogawa, Executive Officer, Panasonic Holdings Corporation
Michiko Ogawa joined Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (now Panasonic Holdings Corporation) in 1986. Her career has spanned R&D of audio equipment, new business development, and CSR activities. In 2015, she was appointed Executive Officer, and in 2021 she became Director in charge of EXPO Promotion. She is also the Director of the Panasonic Group's The Land of NOMO Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
Ogawa has also served in numerous public roles across various fields. She delivered a surprise final presentation at the General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau in Paris on November 23, 2018, as part of Japan's successful bid to host the Expo. In 2021, she was appointed Chairperson in charge of International Exchanges for the International Committee of the Kansai Economic Federation, and she also became Executive Board Member, Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.
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