Close
Back
Download NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Log in
No account?
Forgot your password?
NATO MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT
Access NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Create an account
Check your inbox and enter verification code
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
You have successfully created your account
From now on you can download videos from our website
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would also like to subscribe to the newsletter and receive our latest updates, click on the button below.
Reset password
Enter the email address you registered with and we will send you a code to reset your password.
Reset password
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
Create a new password
The password must be at least 12 characters long, no spaces, include upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Your password has been updated
Click the button to return to the page you were on and log in with your new password.
NATO to participate at World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan
04 August 2025
4 MIN READ
From 2 to 12 August, NATO will participate in the 2025 edition of the World Expo in Japan. Taking place in Osaka, Kansai, the theme for this year’s Expo is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, with the sub-themes of “Saving Lives”, “Empowering Lives” and “Connecting Lives”. This landmark event is expected to welcome over 28 million visitors, making it one of the largest global gatherings after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
With a long tradition dating back to 1851, World Expos (also known as World’s Fairs) are grand international exhibitions where countries unite to showcase their cultures, technologies and innovations, fostering global cooperation and exchanging new ideas. Since 2000, they have taken place once every five years.
Osaka’s Expo is taking place over several months, from 13 April to 13 October. The “NATO Days” will take place in August aligning appropriately with the “Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week.” Although NATO is not an official Expo participant, it will collaborate closely with NATO member countries hosting pavilions at the event — a partnership facilitated by the Mission of Japan to NATO and coordinated through Norway and Romania, NATO’s Contact Point Embassies for Japan.
This collaboration is a prime example of NATO’s broad framework of partnership with Japan. Since the early 1990s, NATO and Japan have been working together on a range of global security challenges, enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation, and upholding and strengthening the rules-based international order. This complements the firm relationships between NATO and its other partners in the Indo-Pacific region: Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.
NATO’s engagement activities during the “Peace, Security and Dignity Week” will emphasise the importance of multilateralism and cooperative security in addressing today’s complex challenges, including cyber security, hybrid threats, information threats, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, emerging technologies, and industrial cooperation. The events will also showcase NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, promoting joint scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange.
Like many other countries and organisations who will be represented in Osaka by mascots, NATO will be travelling to Japan with a new version of its long-term unofficial mascot, the NATO Hedgehog. Hedgehogs are peaceful animals, but formidable and resilient when attacked, making them the perfect representation of NATO’s role as a defensive alliance.
The provisional agenda for NATO’s participation at the Expo can be found below. Sign-up links for events requiring registration will be shared in late July. Any questions may be addressed to Dr Pietro De Matteis, Programme Officer for the Indo-Pacific.
2 August
- Romanian Pavilion: 16:00-17:30 – Opening of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit”. This exhibition features works by Ukrainian artists and is organised by the European Union in collaboration with Romania. The exhibition will be open until 12 August.
4 August
- Portuguese Pavilion: 18:00-19:00 – Live music performance by Ukrainian artist, Maryana Klochko.
5 August – Ukrainian National Day at Expo 2025
- Romanian Pavilion: 15:30-16:30 – Panel discussion with Ukrainian artists of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit” on the topic: “Art as an instrument for resistance and solidarity in times of war”.
- Belgian Pavilion:
- 16:30-17:30 – Panel discussion on “Women (artists) at war” to contribute to the celebration of Ukraine National Day at World Expo Osaka celebrated on 5 August.
- 19:00-20:00 – Live music performance at pop-up stage in front of the Belgian Pavilion by undo despot (free access).
- 19:15-20:45 – Reception Event Centre & VIP Terrace (free access).
- Expo Guest House: 19:30-21:00 – Official Reception linked to the Ukraine National Day at Expo Guest House (by invitation only).
6 August
- Canadian Pavilion: Canada-Ukraine Breakfast. A conversation hosted by Commissioner General for Canada, Laurie Peters, and Commissioner General for Ukraine, Tetyana Berezhna on “Regeneration through women’s empowerment.” This dialogue highlights how empowering women serves as a powerful driver for sustainable growth, community revitalisation and inclusive development.
7 August
- Nordic Pavilion: 10:00-16:45 – NATO Conference Day 1: “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability” at the shared pavilion of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss NATO’s engagement and its commitment to peace, security and international cooperation with representatives from the diplomatic community, international organisations, academia, think-tanks and youth.
- Nordic Pavilion: 17:00-18:30 – Networking Reception
8 August
- Nordic Pavilion: 10:00-13:10 – NATO Conference Day 2: Continuation of the conference “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability”
- Nordic Pavilion: 14:10-19:00 – “Youth for peace & security”. Activities involving young people from Japan and NATO member countries in partnership with Japanese universities.
- Czech Pavilion: 13:00-18:00 – NATO Industry Day: “Designing Future Security for Our Lives". This event will present NATO’s approach to industrial cooperation and foster connections with businesses, startups and young entrepreneurs from NATO member and partner countries. It will also include a panel discussion with Japanese participants in the Science for Peace and Security Programme. This activity is open to the public and you can register here. More information is available in the attached flyer.
- Czech Pavilion: 19:00-21:00 – NATO Days Closing reception: A Spectacle of Air and Water show
NATO Public Diplomacy extends its special thanks to the Embassies of Norway and Romania, acting as NATO Contact Point Embassies in Japan, and to Allies hosting NATO-related activities in their pavilions, including: Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Romania and Sweden.
NATO Public Diplomacy extends its sincere gratitude to all Allies who have contributed to the “NATO Days” at Expo 2025 Osaka with their speakers, including: Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom. We also thank all NATO partners who have contributed speakers, including: Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Ukraine. We thank the European Union equally for platforming an exhibition by Ukrainian artists.
Related assets
At World Expo Osaka Kansai in Japan, a new version of NATO’s long-standing informal hedgehog mascot made its debut. Symbolising peace, resilience and defensive strength, the mascot quickly became a fan favourite among visitors and a symbol of NATO’s open approach at the Expo.
At the Nordic Pavilion, NATO hosted the conference “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability”. The event gathered representatives from the diplomatic community, academia, think-tanks, international organisations and youth from Allies, the European Union, NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners and Ukraine.
If one group defined NATO’s participation in Osaka, it was the young people of Japan. Thanks to a NATO grant to the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), over 70 students from 25 of the top universities across Japan (and beyond) joined the programme.
Japanese youth attended lectures and workshops with NATO experts, played a hybrid-threat simulation game and exchanged views on peace and security with peers and practitioners alongside Pietro De Matteis, Officer for the Indo-Pacific at NATO Headquarters. For many, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One student described it as “the moment I understood what NATO stands for — not just defence, but dialogue”.
At the Czech Pavilion, NATO organised an industry event titled “Designing Future Security for Our Lives”, bringing together innovators and startups from Japan and Allied countries to explore how technology, artificial intelligence and resilience can shape a safer world. The opening speech was delivered by Hirohisa Mori from the Japanese Ministry of Defence’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA).
The industry event at the Czech Pavilion included a panel discussion organised by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme with representatives from industry and NATO’s DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic).
During the “Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week”, which coincided with the NATO Days at Expo 2025, Ukraine also celebrated its national day. The central theme of Ukraine’s programme was gratitude to its partners, who share the values of freedom, dignity and resilience. The official delegation was led by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka, with the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, among the distinguished guests at the event. Several activities were organised by NATO Allies to mark the event, including panel discussions and musical performances at the Belgian, Canadian and Portuguese Pavilions.
The Belgian Pavilion hosted a panel discussion titled “Women Artists at War”. It was the occasion for women involved in the military forces as well as artists to exchange on the impact of war on their daily lives.
Cultural diplomacy was at the heart of NATO’s approach at Expo Osaka. At the Romanian Pavilion, more than 10,000 visitors experienced “Home Beyond the Dawn”, a moving exhibition presented by Ukrainian contemporary artists with the support of the European Union.
The exhibit told a story of resilience through images, sound and digital art — from Lviv to Kherson to Luhansk — capturing the human cost of conflict and the strength of communities rebuilding through creativity. This collaboration was a vivid example of how culture can connect with new audiences and spark reflection about peace and solidarity.
As part of the NATO Days, the Canadian Pavilion hosted the “Canada–Ukraine Breakfast”, where Commissioners General Laurie Peters (Canada) and Tetyana Berezhna (Ukraine) hosted a dialogue on “Regeneration through women’s empowerment”. This dialogue highlighted how empowering women serves as a powerful driver of sustainable growth, community revitalisation and inclusive development.
The German Pavilion organised a reception for students from across Japanese universities involved in the youth-related activities.
At the Portuguese Pavilion, Ukrainian artist Maryana Klochko gave a live music performance. It was an occasion for the general public visiting the World Expo and the Portuguese Pavilion to engage with Ukrainian culture.
Across 12 days, NATO’s activities drew more than 12,000 in-person participants and engaged more online. Japanese media, including NHK, Kyodo, Asahi and Mainichi, covered the events — a reflection of growing public interest in NATO’s partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. The initiative also inspired coverage such as the Tomorrow’s Affairs article “Why is NATO using the World Expo in Japan as a diplomatic stage?”, which praised the Alliance for deploying “a public language of security that is understood and accepted by non-military actors”.
NATO’s first appearance at a World Expo could be seen as a blueprint for communicating to the general public and building people-to-people connections.
NATO’s participation at Expo 2025 – without a pavilion of its own – depended on collaboration with the Mission of Japan to NATO, Japanese universities and professors across the country, local authorities, as well as Allies and partners in Belgium and Japan with the support of the NATO Contact Point Embassies (Norway and Romania). “The spirit of partnership was what made NATO’s participation a success,” said Dr Pietro De Matteis, NATO’s Engagement Officer responsible for the Alliance’s presence at Expo Osaka. “We worked with Allies, Japanese institutions and local stakeholders to make security tangible, relatable, and even inspiring.”