INTERVIEW

If I were to summarize EXPO2025 in one word, it would be “bonds.” This EXPO2025 began with the idea of people from diverse backgrounds coming together as one, as symbolized by the Grand Ring, and it provided the opportunity to strengthen our relationships with other supporters while deepening the bonds among colleagues within our company. We built stronger relationships with colleagues we don’t usually interact with in our day-to-day work. On-site, we had valuable opportunities to work with people from other companies as part of the same team. Strengthening these partnerships during the EXPO2025 was one of our major achievements. The EXPO2025, which involved so many stakeholders, was a valuable experience that helped us grow both individually and as a company. It led us to interact with various stakeholders and build meaningful connections. Together with them, we aim to move new initiatives forward to help build a more sustainable future society.

This project was Hitachi Group’s first co-exhibition in collaboration with another company. Once it was decided that we would partner with KDDI, we began discussing the concept earlier than other companies. KDDI’s business focuses on consumers, mainly in the cell-phone sector. On the other hand, Hitachi operates in social infrastructure fields such as railway, energy, and water. Our business models differ—BtoC and BtoB—and Hitachi has few opportunities to interact directly with general consumers. When we began thinking about what a future city of Society 5.0 would look like, one key theme we focused on was creating a participatory society. That’s why we had high expectations for the ideas and perspectives that project members from KDDI could bring. What would a future society look like—one that truly reflects the will of ordinary citizens? And when that society intersects with our business fields, what kinds of infrastructure should we pursue? When developing approaches to challenges, solutions generated by a partner with a different viewpoint can lead to ideas we could never conceive on our own. Our companies have distinct, complementary strengths, so we had a great deal to learn from each other to create new value. We also have our own responsibilities and goals, which naturally differ between the two organizations. The more participants there are, the harder it becomes to build consensus, just like with the Future City Pavilion co-created by 12 companies and the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. I’m sure there were many challenges at every stage—prior coordination, planning, development, and operation—but I strongly believe that what we gained through this co-creation effort has become a tremendous asset for Hitachi as we move our business forward.

I’m really glad I got the chance to be part of this project, because I was able to see visitors happily and actively choosing the future they wanted. The poll results at Mirai Theater changed with every showing. It could be Healthcare City or it could be Green City. At one point, about 50 of the 120 visitors were high school students. I expected Green City to be the most popular choice for Question 1, given the growing interest in environmental issues, but in fact, more than half of them chose Healthcare City. Perhaps it was because they exercise in their club activities, or because they’re interested in beauty care—whatever the reason, it was wonderful that each of them had the chance to think about what a happy future means to them. Our exhibition was themed around the future city of Society 5.0 from the perspective of ordinary citizens. This experience will help us more clearly explain why our technologies and services are essential as we advance our AI-driven digital business. The members who worked on this project can now approach their regular work with a vision of the future city, which is a major accomplishment for Hitachi.

At the initial stage of planning, we had a concept for a technology exhibition by Hitachi and KDDI, focusing mainly on demonstrating our signature technologies. At one point, Mr. Shuichi Furumi, the creative director of Future City, suggested that we shouldn’t force our concepts of future technology on visitors and that there might be another approach. His advice prompted us to shift toward creating opportunities for visitors to imagine pluralistic futures. That led us to the concept for our exhibition: We can change the future. Once we settled on the concept, we intentionally avoided highlighting specific technologies. Hitachi’s core businesses include areas like mobility and energy, but ordinary citizens are not always aware of them in their daily lives. The everyday activities of ordinary people come first, and infrastructure such as mobility and energy exist to enable them. So we first showcased what a life in the future city of Society 5.0 might look like and then guided visitors to notice and take an interest in the infrastructure technologies behind it. This shift in viewpoint helped us recognize the value of the systems and services we have built so far, and the changes they can bring to the lives of ordinary citizens. That was a major accomplishment for us.

During the Expo, I often had to make quick decisions as the operation director—responding to visitors, handling unexpected trouble, or deciding if we needed to cancel the next showing when the video stopped. I was also responsible for ensuring smooth daily operations, which included monitoring visitor flow and overseeing staff movement in the exhibition area. One major change we made to our on-site operations was allowing same-day entry to the Theater without reservations. Every 20 minutes, 300 people entered Future City. The Theater also screened a video every 20 minutes with a capacity of 120 seats, but because not all visitors proceeded to the Theater, it didn’t reach full capacity each time. Some evening showings had around 50 visitors, and the first showings of the day drew as few as 10. So we began by allowing 12 visitors without reservations. Instead of making a public announcement, we personally approached people who came to the Pavilion and invited them to the Theater. By monitoring the situation on site and interacting with visitors daily, we gradually increased Theater attendance, eventually reaching around 160 visitors per showing, including those standing. We weren’t sure if the approach would work, but we gave it a try. And when it didn’t work, we refined and improved it. Those days of trial and error helped all of us involved in the operations learn and grow.

Social media was not yet common during Expo 2005 Aichi—At the previous Aichi Expo that Hitachi sponsored—so EXPO2025 was our first attempt at promoting through X. In early May, we created a dedicated X account for EXPO 2025 and began sharing information. We analyzed the reception, impressions, and likes on each post and used those insights to shape our next ones. The Future City Pavilion was located far from the West Gate, an area typically reached only by visitors with a specific purpose, so I focused on posting updates about what was happening on the west side of the venue. I also made sure to share the latest information from that area in real time. Among the posts I shared on X, the photo of the fireworks with the MYAKU-MYAKU statue in front of the Future City Pavilion received an especially strong response. The next day, many visitors came to this spot, which helped draw more attention and traffic to Future City. Seeing that happen felt like a result of my work, and I was genuinely happy about it. There were team members on-site who supported operations for a limited period, and we asked them to post on X as well. We asked them to spend a few hours each day exploring the venue, discovering something that caught their attention and gathering information about it. Through our posts, we were able to share useful information from a variety of viewpoints, including Expo food, events, goods, and interviews with visitors.

I learned that there are many diverse and innovative approaches to creating a business if you free yourself from preconceived ideas. I had opportunities to speak with educators from universities and high schools, and these conversations reminded me how essential education and human resource development are for building a truly participatory society. I realized that a wide range of efforts, including initiatives like EXPO School Caravan, are indispensable for creating new forms of participatory business.
I also realized that relying only on existing partners—those we choose based on familiar assumptions like “for this type of business, we should work with that company”—is not enough, and that it is vital to engage in dialogue with partners we had never considered working with. In addition to getting everyone in the company involved, drawing on our strengths, and establishing a clear business vision, we also need to free ourselves from preconceived ideas and create opportunities to communicate with people who look toward the future. That is the strongest impression left on me by EXPO2025. I had never experienced opportunities like this before, so I am personally grateful for the valuable insights I gained.

Future City welcomed many senior government officials of Japan and abroad, including Mr. Shigeru Ishiba who was Japan’s prime minister at the time. Just as Future City was created through the co-creation of 12 companies and organizations rather than by a single entity, Hitachi advances its social innovation projects through collaboration with various stakeholders, contributing to the realization of Society 5.0, Japan’s national strategy. I believe we were able to clearly convey this corporate stance to the officials who visited. We also supported events held at international pavilions, and we frequently conducted interviews in Osaka and Tokyo with key figures who visited Japan for the EXPO2025. All of this was carried out in cooperation with Hitachi Group’s globally operating divisions. These experiences offered valuable opportunities for us to build relationships with governmental organizations.

Hitachi takes a long-term approach to business, and at our exhibition, we presented a vision of the future shaped by digital technologies. I believe the exhibition demonstrated our reliability and capability as a company. The event also allowed us to strengthen ties with other companies and with colleagues from departments we rarely work with, which broadened our network. Many employees who worked on-site at the Expo said that the experience provided valuable learning opportunities that differed from their usual duties. We believe that the activities at the Expo have helped develop talent capable of driving co-creation across One Hitachi in the future. In addition, we see the implementation of a participatory society as the mission of this project. Discussions about co-creation are now under way among the supporters of Future City. Commercializing this vision will not be easy, but our goal is to achieve it by 2027. We are currently exploring business models and implementation methods, and we aim to refine the details and deliver concrete results as we move forward.