Expo '85, officially called the , was a
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
held in
Tsukuba, Ibaraki,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(Tsukuba Science City, a planned city focused on technology north of
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
) between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985.
The theme of the fair was "Dwellings and surroundings – Science and Technology for Man at Home".
Attendance was over 20 million and 48 countries participated,
along with several companies.
The exposition
The exhibition recognised by the
Bureau International des Expositions
The Bureau international des expositions (BIE; English: International Bureau of Expositions) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos or world expos) falling under the jurisdiction o ...
(BIE), was devoted to the advancements in science and technology, and sought to highlight the impact of technological evolution on ordinary life
to ensure that science and technology would be accessible to everyone.
The exhibition had a double intention. It was expected that the exposition would showcase Japan as a country of technological innovation. In addition, organisers hoped that the Expo would give some much needed exposure to Tsukuba, a city created 2 decades before as a scientific center, without much success.
Among the attractions of the exposition was the
Jumbotron, a huge TV screen developed by the Japanese firm
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
.
Grouped by continent, the participant countries were as follows:
; Africa
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; Asia
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; The Americas
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; Europe
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; Oceania
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In regards to the companies, the ones who were present are as follows:
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Daiei
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Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...
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Fuyo Group
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Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
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IBM
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Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association
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Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
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Matsushita
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Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
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Mitsui
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NEC
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...
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NTT
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Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
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Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
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Sumitomo Group
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Suntory
(commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...
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TDK
is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity".
"TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...
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Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
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UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.
is a manufacturer of coffee and tea products in Kobe, Hyōgo. "UCC" stands for "Ueshima Coffee Company".
It owns a Kona coffee farm on the island of Hawaii.
The company is a part of the UCC Group.
History
The company started as a store unde ...
Also present were the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
, along with the government of the
Ibaraki prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
.
Mascot
The mascot was
Cosmo Hoshimaru
Expo '85, officially called the , was a world's fair held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan (Tsukuba Science City, a planned city focused on technology north of Tokyo) between Sunday, March 17 and Monday, September 16, 1985. The theme of the fair was " ...
was designed by a student in a design competition,
and shows either a anthropomorphic planet with a ring
or an alien astronaut with a flying saucer.
[
]
References
Further reading
*Narita, Tatsushi. 'Tsukuba 1985.' In ''Encyclopedia of World's Fairs and Expositions'', ed. John E. Findling and Kimberly D. Pelle. Jefferson, NC and London:McFarland, 2008. pp. 364–367.
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External links
Official website of the BIEExpoMuseum page on Expo '85
Aerial photograph at the area, 1984Live performance at Expo '85 by Boz Scaggs*
The International Exposition, Tsukuba, Japan, written in Japanese but equipped with a lot of pictures of representative pavilions.
World's fairs in Japan
Tsukuba, Ibaraki
1985 in Japan
{{Japan-festival-stub