Grand Duke Henri to Attend Luxembourg Day Ceremony at Expo 2025 Osaka

Luxembourg’s Grand Duke, Henri, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, and Minister of Defence, Minister of Mobility and Public Works and Minister of Gender Equality and Diversity, Yuriko Backes, will pay a working visit to Japan from Tuesday 27 May until Sunday 1 June 2025.

In a press release, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Mobility and Public Works, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade and the Directorate of Defence stated that the focus of the visit is the celebration of Luxembourg Day at Expo 2025 Osaka on Friday 30 May 2025. Throughout the six-month World Expo, each participating country will be honoured on its national day, marked by a series of official and cultural events. The official Luxembourg Day ceremony will include a visit to the national pavilion, official speeches and a musical programme featuring Luxembourg artists Francesco Tristano, Pascal Schumacher and Jill Crovisier, in collaboration with Maika Fujii.

Minister Bettel is due to join the Luxembourg delegation in Osaka, from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 May 2025, to participate in the official Luxembourg Day ceremony. He is expected to meet with Japanese companies and investors present on site. In this context, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, a key partner of the Luxembourg @ Expo 2025 Osaka Economic Interest Group (GIE), will lead a large delegation of Luxembourg business leaders to Osaka, reportedly demonstrating the Grand Duchy’s commitment to strengthening its economic ties with Japan and other international partners.

According to the press release, Expo 2025, with the theme "Designing the Society of the Future, Imagining Our Life Tomorrow," brings together participants around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, with the aim of creating an inclusive, just and sustainable society. The Luxembourg pavilion is entitled "Doki Doki - The Luxembourg Heartbeat," a Japanese expression referring to “the enthusiastic and joyful beating of the heart”. Developed under the project management of the Public Buildings Administration, the pavilion is described as embodying the principles of circularity and, more specifically, the concept of "design for disassembly," which emphasises the planning of buildings and products to facilitate their disassembly after their initial use.

Furthermore, Minister Backes will participate in various bilateral meetings. She will attend the meeting between Grand Duke Henri and Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan. She will also meet with Gen Nakatani, Minister of Defence of Japan, to discuss bilateral cooperation in defence, security and relations with NATO. Along with Yasushi Furukawa, Japanese Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Minister Backes will discuss mobility challenges, including autonomous driving, interchange design and issues related to air transport. A visit to Tier IV, a player in the autonomous vehicle sector in Japan, is also scheduled.