Deputy PM Bettel Inaugurates Luxembourg Pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka

Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, paid a working visit to Tokyo and Osaka , Japan from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 April 2025.

In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Cooperation and Foreign Trade stated that the visit aimed to strengthen Luxembourg-Japan bilateral relations.

In Tokyo, Minister Bettel held bilateral meetings with his Japanese counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, as well as with the Chairman of the Japan-Luxembourg Parliamentary Friendship Group and Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi. The agenda included bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Japan, as well as major international issues.

Minister Bettel said "Japan and Luxembourg are bound by a long-standing partnership, based on shared values and mutual trust. We both believe in the importance of multilateralism, cooperation and a rules-based international order - even more so in the current context marked by considerable uncertainty. It is in this spirit that we addressed current international issues”.

As the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Luxembourg and Japan approaches in 2027, Minister Bettel and his Japanese counterparts also discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in areas such as space, financial services, artificial intelligence, air services and human relations. 

Minister Bettel then travelled to Osaka to participate in the official opening ceremony of Expo 2025 Osaka, which was held in the presence of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, as well as Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. Minister Bettel then inaugurated the Luxembourg Pavilion, in the presence of the Commissioner General of the Luxembourg  Pavilion, André Hansen, and representatives of the companies involved in the pavilion's construction. Under the theme "Designing the Society of the Future, Imagining Our Life of Tomorrow," Expo 2025 Osaka, which will welcome 158 countries, is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN to create an inclusive, just and sustainable society. The Luxembourg pavilion, designed by the Luxembourg architectural firm STDM, is themed "Doki Doki - The Luxembourg Heartbeat," a Japanese expression for an enthusiastic and joyful heartbeat.

Minister Bettel stated: "The Luxembourg pavilion illustrates the different facets of Luxembourg: its traditions, its culture, its openness to the world, but also its modernity. It will serve as a showcase for our country and will attempt to showcase the different faces of Luxembourg to an international audience. We are particularly proud of the pavilion's circular nature: the importance of responsible and respectful management of natural resources is one of the main messages conveyed by Luxembourg's participation in the Expo. I would like to thank everyone involved in the creation of the Luxembourg pavilion".

On the occasion of the pavilion's inauguration, the Minister also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Luxembourg@Expo2025Osaka Economic Interest Group (EIG) and NestaResort Kobe, formalising NestaResort Kobe's commitment to reuse the concrete foundation blocks of the Luxembourg pavilion after the end of the Expo.

Minister Bettel also took the opportunity to welcome Luxembourgish, Japanese and international visitors to the Luxembourg pavilion and to visit other national pavilions. The Minister welcomed the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Laurent Saint-Martin, and the President of the Swiss National Council, Maja Riniker, to the Luxembourg pavilion for a tour and a friendly game of bowling (jeu de quilles). The minister also received a group of young members of the Pueri Cantores boys' choir of the Luxembourg City Conservatory. They performed on the Expo site alongside young people from the Ritsumeikan School in Kyoto. This was the first cultural event of the Luxembourg Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.

Minister Bettel also met students from the Luxembourg School of Hospitality and Tourism (EHTL), who are responsible for kitchen, pastry and service tasks at the Luxembourg Pavilion.

The ministry noted that the Luxembourg pavilion houses a bowling alley (Keelebunn), which it described as “an expression of traditional Luxembourgish craftsmanship and can be seen as a fine example of knowledge transfer". The bowling alley is the result of a collaboration between students from the Lycée Emile Metz, trainers from the CNFPC (National Centre for Continuing Professional Training) and the last bowling alley builder in Luxembourg, Georges Linster. See https://expopavilion.lu/2024/12/13/keelebunn-as-interior-design-centerpiece-with-a-story/ for further information.