The Monocle Minute

The idea of a “world exposition” has never seemed more retro than it does today. The first was held in London’s Hyde Park in 1851 to showcase the industrial and cultural achievements of nations across the planet. But this year’s edition in Osaka is taking place against a very different backdrop: the global economy is teetering on the brink, with multiple nations pitted against each other. Despite this, Japan has somehow managed to remain optimistic.

Breakdancers, kabuki performers and an artificial-intelligence-powered master of ceremonies were all part of last Sunday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for Expo 2025. Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said that the six-month event would provide “a stage for people to come together and exchange dialogue”. Joining in the hand-holding are 158 countries, a number of international organisations and several powerhouse Japanese companies. The site of the event on the manmade island of Yumeshima (“Dream Island”) spans more than 155 hectares and hosts dozens of pavilions.

Despite all the pageantry, Expo 2025’s hosts have tricky issues to tackle. The budget has ballooned from ¥125bn (€769m) to ¥235bn (€1.4bn), a controversial new casino is under construction nextdoor and the question of the event’s sustainability still hangs in the air. The pre-opening reception from the Japanese public was unusually lukewarm. Some nine million tickets have been sold but organisers are hoping for more than 28 million over the next six months.

Osaka’s charm is rooted in nostalgia. The city hosted the event in 1970, when futurism was all the rage. That expo’s defining monument was the eccentric Tower of the Sun, a still-stunning 70-metre-tall sculpture by artist Taro Okamoto. Can the 2025 iteration, whose theme is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, inspire a new generation in the same way? A-list architect Sou Fujimoto, whose 2km-long “Grand Ring” encompasses the site, certainly hopes so. Everyone here is playing to their strengths: the French, for instance, are showcasing their fashion heritage with pieces by Louis Vuitton, Celine and Christian Dior. The Italians have a Caravaggio, the Dutch have Miffy and the UK pavilion has a neat garden and a red telephone box. The US pavilion offers the theme of “togetherness”, which is raising a few eyebrows, though the crowds on day one suggest that it will prove to be one of the most popular shows.

Given the parlous state of the world, there is something heartening about seeing nations that can’t stand one another politically get along just fine in the confines of an expo. The unlikely star of the show? Myaku Myaku, the once-derided, now quietly beloved blue-and-red mascot, who brings the cheery optimism that such an event calls for and that the public craves. If Myaku Myaku can’t bring us together, who will?

Wilson is Monocle’s Tokyo bureau chief and senior Asia editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Architects and designers have long been entranced by cars and the creative possibilities that they offer (writes Michael Booth). Many have attempted to create their own vehicles with mixed success. Here, we look at three renowned architects and their relationship with the automobile.

Norman Foster
Like many architects, Foster has been fascinated by the internal spaces of cars. Among his extensive collection of vehicles is a recreation of Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion, a strange, “wingless plane” designed in the 1930s that proved fatally unstable at high speeds.

Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright’s first car was a 1908 Stoddard-Dayton. He always insisted on customising the bodies of his vehicles, which were usually painted Cherokee red, and was a big fan of convertibles. His favourite brand was the now-defunct Cord, though he also loved the Lincoln Continental and made drawings of his own unrealised car: a wildly impractical, futuristic vehicle that he called the Road Machine, which seated three abreast.

Giò Ponti
In 1953, Ponti designed an automobile based on the measurements of an Alfa Romeo chassis. With its large glasshouse and plunging bonnet, the Linea Diamante was decades ahead of its time. More a set of design principles than a car, it had a clear influence on the vehicles of the 1970s, such as the Fiat 127, Volvo 340 and Saab 99.

To read more about ‘carchitects’, from Le Corbusier to Renzo Piano, pick up a copy of Monocle’s ‘Salone del Mobile Special’ newspaper, which is out now.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been the prime minister of Greece since 2019. He recently announced his intention to lead his party, New Democracy, into the country’s next general election, which is expected to take place in 2027. He spoke to Monocle at last week’s Delphi Economic Forum.

When it comes to security, is Europe ready to stand up on its own?
Europe isn’t in a position to replace the US’s dominant role within Nato. We have to work hard to keep America on board while recognising that we need to do more to protect ourselves. We are moving in the right direction. Progress has been made, though not at the pace that I would like.

Does Greece’s relationship with Turkey offer any lessons in managing difficult relations with a Nato ally?
Our history with Turkey goes back centuries. It’s a complicated relationship. Greece has to be able to defend its sovereign rights. That’s why we’re investing heavily in our armed forces. At the same time, we need to find ways to have a more productive relationship with our neighbour. That requires open channels of communication, which we have established with Turkey at all levels.

How can a great maritime nation such as Greece navigate an on-again-off-again trade war?
I can’t imagine Europe and the US breaking away from each other in terms of trade. Europe is based on the idea of an open international order with free trade at its core. Greece controls about a quarter of the world’s [commercial] maritime fleet. Some 80 per cent of the world’s trade takes place via the sea so we have to ensure the steady flow of goods. Globalisation has created complex supply chains and interdependent interests, which will prove very difficult to dismantle. Aggressive decisions and measures by the US can cause significant short-term pain on the global market. Greece knows all too well about this. These supply chains are important for small countries but they’re also crucial for the world’s largest economy.

You can listen to the full interview with Mitsotakis on the latest episode of Monocle Radio’s ‘The Foreign Desk’.

Spring is here and the flowers are in bloom – but their painted counterparts have the advantage of being mercifully pollen-free (writes Blake Matich). Here are three must-see art exhibitions to poke your nose into this season.

The Sainsbury Wing at The National Gallery, London
After years of refurbishment, The Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery will soon reopen – an event coinciding with a “once-in-a-generation” rehang of the gallery’s collection. As the institution’s main entry point, the rejuvenated Sainsbury Wing will once again welcome visitors with its trove of medieval and Renaissance paintings, including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Piero della Francesca.
The Sainsbury Wing and The National Gallery’s completed redisplay will be open to visitors from 10 May.

‘A Century of The New Yorker’, New York Public Library, New York
The New York Public Library’s flagship branch holds more than 2,500 boxes of The New Yorker’s archive. As part of the celebrations marking the magazine’s centenary, it is hosting an exhibition that brings together artefacts, correspondence, manuscripts, memos and cartoons to pay tribute to the creatives whose attention to detail has long elevated the publication.
‘A Century of The New Yorker’ is open now.

‘A World in Colour’, Magnum Photos
In partnership with Fujifilm and MPP, Magnum Photos is digitising some 650,000 photographic slides mostly from the latter half of the 20th century. The images range from those of intimate moments to on-the-ground snaps of earth-shaking events. The programme, titled ‘A World in Colour’, spotlights a new country every month; the first was Czechia. In addition to the photos’ digital publication across the agency’s platforms, there will be a series of live talks, exhibitions and events held in several cities. Next stop? Torneria Tortona in Milan on 10 and 11 May.
‘A World in Colour’ is an ongoing project. For the latest information, visit magnumphotos.com.

New York provides the backdrop to two cultural gems. Directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, documentary One to One: John & Yoko follows the former Beatle and the artist as they roam Greenwich Village in the 1970s, pursuing projects, preparing for a charity concert and meeting leftist radicals. We sit down with Rice-Edwards to discuss the film. Plus: US writer Katie Kitamura tells us about her new novel, Audition.