Reflecting on the Osaka World Expo

This feature was included in CPD's 2024–2025 Annual Report. 

Maelee Blancaflor is a graduate of the USC Master of Public Diplomacy program, where she participated in the World Expo 2025 Maymester. She focuses her research on global cultures with an East Asia-Pacific regional emphasis. 

Directly after graduating from the Master of Public Diplomacy program in May 2025, I had the incredible opportunity to join a two-week Maymester at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Over the course of the program, my colleagues and I met with Pavilion Commissioner Generals, Deputy Commissioner Generals, Pavilion Directors, and media teams. We visited an impressive range of pavilions including Canada, Japan, the United Nations, Czechia, Germany, Australia, the United States, Switzerland, France, South Korea, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Nigeria, and many more.

Each visit offered a new perspective on how countries design strategies to reach international audiences while also engaging the Japanese public, who made up about 90% of Expo visitors. It was fascinating to see how pavilions had to balance audiences: Families visiting on weekends, delegations of government and business leaders, and influencers and journalists looking for meaningful stories. Many officials spoke candidly about the challenge of sustaining media relevance. While local outlets could cover daily happenings, international media needed longer, more cohesive narratives.

The question became, how do you craft a storyline arc that lasts six months, not just a single news cycle? The design choices we observed reflected those pressures and priorities. Some countries focused on innovation and technology, others on cultural heritage or investment opportunities. Each pavilion blended policy, identity, and imagination into a space where narrative and architecture worked hand in hand. Our time in Tokyo added another layer of learning.

We met with public diplomacy counterparts at institutions like The Japan Foundation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Global City Network for Sustainability. These conversations highlighted how subnational actors, like cities and cultural organizations, are becoming increasingly central to international engagement.

For me, the most exciting part is thinking about how to bring these insights home. Los Angeles will soon host two of the world’s biggest mega events, the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028. As a board member with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy Los Angeles, I am already thinking about how to apply what I learned in Osaka to help prepare for these moments. 

(Featured photo courtesy of Yao Li)