Osaka Expo

The Osaka Expo 2025 kicked off on April 13 under the theme 'Designing Future Society for Our Lives,' featuring Myaku-Myaku, a multi-eyed, red-and-blue blob as its official mascot along with other global partners’ mascots reflecting their home countries’ culture, highlighting Japan's renowned and thriving ACG (anime, comics, and games) industry. Japan’s unique animation-producing environment catalyses “Kawaii Culture” (かわいい文化), which emphasizes appealing characters. The "performativity of cute," as anthropologist Christine Yano describes it, is deeply embedded in contemporary Japanese culture. In her book Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, Yano explains that kawaii culture serves multiple roles: it’s a playful, personal mode of self-expression and identity, while also functioning as a potent tool for branding and cultural diplomacy. While Japan has this unique cultural phenomenon, many countries around the globe also have thier own mascot traditions, leading  them to bring their own mascots to the party. Outstanding examples ranged from host country, Japan, to European countries such as Italy, German, and Asia like China.  Designed by children’s book author Kohei Yamashita through the government’s open call to the Japanese public, Japan’s mascot’s name—an onomatopoeia evoking a pulse -- was also chosen from public submissions. Described as "creepy but cute", MYAKU-MYAKU has already sparked significant economic activity through popular merchandise and has greatly enhanced the exhibition's global visibility.. At the spot, people lined up for hours to get official plush toys or related items. Visitors poured in to take group photos with the mascot. Elements of Myaku-Myaku can be seen around the exhibition being part of the whole event.  Sato Ryoko rushed to the satellite store of MARUZEN JUNKUDO right after her visit to the Japan Pavilion, spent over one hour waiting in the line to get in, and won the first prize of a giant MYAKU-MYAKU plush toy with …