Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 opens with next-generation air mobility showcase

Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai opened on 13 April 2025 on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay. The world's fair ran for about six months and drew visitors and companies from many countries.

Among its themes was "next-generation air mobility". Japanese organisers and companies planned to use the event to present eVTOL aircraft, electric vehicles that take off and land vertically and are meant to work as air taxis. Developers and operators from Japan and abroad were involved, and the plans included demonstration flights and displays tied to the Expo.

The Expo mattered for the sector because it gave the Kansai region, which covers Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, a visible stage for a technology that had been promoted as a possible commercial service in Japan. Government officials and businesses saw the event as a way to build public familiarity and test safety, regulation and operations before any regular passenger service. This set the ground for later regional efforts to turn demonstrations into commercial air taxi routes.