Conveying the hidden charms of the EXPO and the heartfelt thoughts of those involved through a kamishibai (paper theater) storytelling.

Lots of negative info about the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai flows through news and the net. Wouldn’t it be pretty lame as Kansai people if the event just fizzled out with no hype? A kamishibai (paper theater) can surely convey stories from angles that news and online media miss. The passion conveyed through kamishibai—performed up close, face to face—can only be felt in that direct human connection. Across ages and nationalities, Japanese culture’s “KAMISHIBAI” surely holds stories and episodes that resonate with everyone. With these thoughts in mind, this project was launched.

Project Inauguration

Do you know the significance of flying cars at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai? One of the highlights of the EXPO is the flying car. Though some voices question its practicality or wonder why flying cars now, as a kamishibai storyteller, the focus is on the passionate engineers’ strong desire to create these vehicles — a hope for the future. The success of the 1970 Expo was deeply rooted in such passionate hopes and visions for the future. Believing it’s important to pass on these bright hopes to the children of 2025 through kamishibai, this project was launched.

Future Prospects for the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai

Grassroots activities using kamishibai to energize EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai from the streets.
Many people might feel like, “The EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai? That’s for big companies, not really related to me,” right? However, the key to its success lies in whether each and every local person can enjoy it and get excited about it — making it their own thing.

In this context, kamishibai — a kind of familiar, grassroots entertainment — is somehow playing an active role. When that happens, locals will likely feel closer to the EXPO and enjoy it more naturally.

So far, through various events, kamishibai has been used to help build excitement and momentum for the EXPO.
As the next step, there remains plenty of charm in the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai as well as heartfelt stories from those involved. These will be conveyed and shared from various perspectives through kamishibai.