To celebrate Japan World Expo 2025, the official mascot Myaku-Myaku is travelling abroad for the first time and making an appearance in Paris.
ADVERTISEMENTJapanophiles will be flocking to Paris over the next few days for one of the biggest festivals of Japanese culture in Europe. The French capital is hosting the Japan Expo from 13 to 16 July which is set to attract more than 250,000 visitors.
This year, the event will also welcome a booth promoting the Japan World Expo, which will be held in Osaka in 2025.
As part of the showcase, the official mascot Myaku-Myaku will be travelling abroad for the first time and making an appearance in Paris.
The biggest festival of Japanese culture opens in Paris
France’s Japan Expo, held in the country since 2000, is a four-day tribute to Japan and its culture.
At the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, visitors can begin by taking a deep dive into Japanese art. Dozens of famous artists are featured and many make the journey over to exhibit at the festival.
Visitors have the chance to meet mangaka (cartoonists), animators, chara-designers, illustrators and video game creators. These guests often hold masterclasses, signings and panels where they give you an insight into their work.
Music also features heavily and plenty of producers, musicians, singers and composers make an appearance. Some hold concerts giving visitors a taste of the vast range of Japanese music.
You can hear J-rock, RnB, J-pop, hard rock, punk, electro and anime and video game music. Traditional artists perform using ancient instruments like the shamisen, koto, and sanshin.
The Expo also showcases Japanese fashion, martial arts and performing arts.
If the exhibits have you feeling inspired, you can join workshops and classes to learn the basics of drawing and modelling or traditional activities such as ikebana (flower arrangement), origami and calligraphy.
Cosplay has become one of the most popular attractions at the Japan Expo. Passionate cosplayers perform on the Kitsune stage, the biggest cosplay stage in Europe, in extraordinary costumes of their favourite characters. The Japan Expo also hosts the finals of the European Cosplay Gathering.
France promotes Japan Expo 2025
The Paris event will also be a chance to get a glimpse of what’s in store at the Japan Expo 2025 in Osaka at a dedicated PR booth.
The Osaka expo will take place for six months, opening 13 April and closing 13 October 2025.
The theme of the event is ‘Designing future society for our lives’ and will be a space where visitors from around the world “not only view exhibits but will co-create our future society.”
At the show, “cutting-edge technology will be brought together, used to create new ideas, and shared, all to help resolve global issues facing mankind."
At the Paris expo, visitors will have the chance to meet Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of Japan’s 2025 event. The mysterious red and blue creature is “born from the unification of cells and water” and “takes its shape by imitating human beings.”
According to the expo organisers, Myaku-Myaku is friendly, goofy, and clumsy and loves interacting with all creatures and things.
