Our reflections and what global brands can learn about resilience and the power of experience.

Resilience, optimism, and the quiet power of Japan

At a glance, Expo 2025 Osaka could seem like a high-stakes gamble. Spiralling costs, political noise, and public scepticism have made easy headlines. And yet, standing beneath the timber halo of the Grand Ring, what strikes you isn’t crisis, it’s conviction.
Saffron’s Jacob Benbunan and Mao Kawakami had the chance to travel to Osaka and experience Expo 2025 firsthand. What they found was an imperfect yet inspiring and deeply human showcase under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. And for global brands and cities alike, there’s a lot to take away.

There’s a temptation to judge world expos by the same metrics as the Olympics: sleek execution, global attention, economic impact. But expos play a slower, subtler game. At their best, they’re moments of intentional optimism, staging grounds where ideas and identities have room to breathe.
Expo 2025 is no exception. Despite logistical setbacks, there was a real sense of resolve across the site. Crowds of schoolchildren in matching uniforms, queues outside pavilions, selfies with the beloved multi-eyed mascot Myaku-Myaku—it all pointed to something we’ve seen before in our work across Japan: once a cultural current starts flowing, it gains momentum fast.

From <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/journal/our-partnership-to-widen-setouchis-global-appeal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Setouchi</a> to <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/journal/shaping-kansais-global-future" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kansai,</a> we’ve seen regional brands embrace the global stage, not by abandoning their roots, but by sharing them more confidently. Expo 2025 provides a similar springboard. The challenge now is to ensure this isn’t a single firework but the start of more to come.

Walking the Expo grounds, the understated nature of Japan’s approach stood out. This wasn’t a tech-saturated theme park or a glitzy trade show. It was refined, almost reverent, inviting reflection rather than overwhelm.

Some pavilions were showstoppers. Saudi Arabia’s, designed by <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/1009980/foster-plus-partners-designs-model-village-for-saudi-arabian-pavilion-at-expo-2025-osaka" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foster + Partners,</a> was a confident declaration of future ambition: part sci-fi dream, part cultural renaissance. A canopy of silver boat lines, the main tool of sailing ships during the Age of Discovery, represented Portugal’s deep connection to the sea and to Japan. The Spain pavilion offered a quieter (and less effective) form of engagement. Other nations, perhaps with fewer resources, still made a strong impression. Proof that presence, not perfection, is what matters.

Across the board, the best experiences were the most human. The <a href="https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/domestic-pv/ntt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NTT Pavilion</a> offered a glimpse into future telecoms with immersive tech (and equally immersive <a href="https://www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.com/en/news/rls_2025/rls_20250401.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">uniforms,</a> printed with <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/work/kyocera" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">our client Kyocera</a>’s textile inkjet innovation).
The egg-shaped <a href="https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/domestic-pv/electric/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Electric Power Pavilion</a> delivered an engaging mix of storytelling and sustainability. And in a moment both poignant and playful, the kneeling <a href="https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/domestic-pv/bandai-namco/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RX-78-2 Gundam</a> below the <a href="https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/expo-map-index/main-facilities/grandring/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grand Ring</a> seemed to bow in humility before a larger, global presence.
This is the lesson: in branding places, as in branding anything, it’s all about the experience you deliver. What people remember is how they felt. The countries and companies that invested in creating moments of curiosity, humour or wonder were the ones people queued for.

Japan is rich in duality: nature and technology, restraint and innovation, tradition and reinvention. Expo 2025 puts that duality to work in service of the bigger idea that optimism isn’t naive, <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/journal/a-dose-of-practical-optimism-from-kyoto" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it’s necessary.</a>
In a post-pandemic, climate-stressed, politically fragmented world, staging a global expo could feel like an extravagant distraction. But perhaps it's exactly what’s needed: a space to signal intent, share progress, and inspire collaboration. In that light, Expo 2025 is less a megaproject and more a message.
For cities and regions looking to boost their global relevance, that message is clear: long-term value comes from telling your story with consistency, creativity and care. The Kansai region, with its dense mix of cultural depth, industrial might and human warmth, has all the ingredients to carry the Expo’s legacy forward—if it chooses to keep telling that story beyond 2025.

Global brands watching from afar might be tempted to write this off as a uniquely Japanese endeavour. But the broader implications are worth noting.
As business becomes increasingly borderless, the way places present themselves has a material impact on tourism, investment, talent and trade.
In parallel, the relationship between brands and places is evolving. Companies don’t just operate in locations, they increasingly co-author their reputations. The collaboration between our client JR West and multiple stakeholders across the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, for instance, wasn’t about signage. It was about signalling: ‘We’re part of shaping what comes next.’

It’s tempting to look at the long history of world expos and try to spot patterns. But the truth is, each Expo is a mirror of its time. What Osaka reflects is a quiet, determined belief in the power of thoughtful design, cultural clarity and shared futures.
That may not be loud. But it’s lasting. And as Japan leans into its role as host, collaborator and visionary, it’s showing the world that branding isn’t just about saying the right thing, it’s about building the kind of experiences people remember, and the kind of futures they want to be part of.
In the shadow of Expo’s Grand Ring, even Gundam kneels.

Expo 2025 runs for six months, from 13 April to 13 October.

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