Can Osaka World Expo find its purpose in a world torn apart by conflict?

Festival of futuristic technology may serve as a reminder that the world can be a better place

- Walter Sim

OSAKA - On the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is a tribute to the 1889 World Expo, the very event that led to its creation.

The now iconic landmark was meant as a temporary installation - a "celebration of industry, art and science", as the sign describes it - to mark the international fair. Then the world's tallest structure, the tower was "a display of technical expertise, an invention ahead of its time".

Paris, where the World Expo's regulating body is headquartered, hosted the "ode to everything marvellous and magical" again in 1900. But by the time the city hosted its final fair in 1937 - two years before World War II - there was "a sense of uneasiness in the air (as) nations have begun belligerently challenging each other".

Which of these descriptions will Osaka 2025 go down in history for?

Against the backdrop of a trade war, bloody conflicts and increasingly fraught superpower competition, Japan hopes the World Expo can be a celebration of togetherness and a platform for forging a spirit of multilateralism and inclusivity.

Organisers aim to attract at least 28.2 million visitors during the jamboree, which starts from April 13 and runs for six months on the reclaimed island of Yumeshima ("Dream Island").

There is plenty of symbolic unity. The pavilions of 158 countries and regions, as well as seven international organisations, are housed within a Grand Ring that is certified as the world's largest wooden structure at 20m high and 2km around.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who once described the trade uncertainties Japan faces as a "national crisis", said on April 12 during the nationally broadcast Expo opening ceremony: "As the world confronts various crises of division, it is extremely meaningful for people from all over the world to gather here, experience different cultures and contemplate the overall theme of life."