Pavilion Handover Ceremony

On Sept 14, an official ceremony was held at the site of Expo 2005 to mark the handing over of newly completed pavilions to the official participants (122 countries and 7 international organizations).

The event, held six months before the start of the Expo, was attended by 566 people, including 390 representatives of official participants and 100 media from both inside and outside Japan.

The ceremony began with Taizo Watanabe, Commissioner General of the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan, addressing the gathering. Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition, spoke next, followed by renowned kabuki actor Senjaku Nakamura who was joined by the Expo mascots, Morizo and Kiccoro.

French Commissioner General Bernard Testu, President of the Steering Committee, received the pavilion key from Chairman Toyoda on behalf of all the official participants.

“This symbolically marks the opening of the pavilions. This key is the gateway to the world,” Testu told the gathering at the site, located about 20 kilometers from downtown Nagoya.

The dignitaries were then given a Global Loop guided tour of each Global Common, followed by a reception speech by Toshio Nakamura, secretary general of the Association, and a greeting by Harumi Sakamoto, its vice-chairperson.

The theme of the Expo is “Nature's Wisdom,” and each pavilion will showcase ways in which advanced technologies can be applied to build a sustainable society and work toward coexistence with nature.