EXPO2025 Theme Weeks

Programme details

In the Jellyfish Pavilion, led by Sachiko Nakajima, Thematic Project Producer, we have launched the Jellyfish "Muddler" Meeting, a unique initiative where people from all backgrounds come together to create a society where everyone can shine and elevate life. Through discussions aimed at building a pavilion that everyone can enjoy, these "muddlers" have actively shaped ideas for a new society. During the "Learning and Playing Week," we will share their voices and contributions with the world.

*Some changes have been made to the speakers.

Cast

Moderator

NAKAJIMA Sachiko

Thematic Project ”Invigorating Lives" (Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition)

Musician, a mathematics researcher, and a STEAM Educator. She is also CEO of steAm, Inc.,the representative director of steAm BAND Association and a thematic project producer of Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. She also serves as a STEM Girls Ambassador, Cabinet Office, and project researcher of Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences The University of Tokyo. She won the gold medal as the first Japanese woman in the International Mathematical Olympiad. She passionately conducts research on art and technology as well as music, mathematics, and education.

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Hisayoshi MUTO

Director, Curriculum Division, Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Joined the Ministry of Education in 2000. After working in the Curriculum Planning Office and as a long-term overseas researcher (Harvard Graduate School of Education), he was seconded to the Hokkaido Board of Education for four years. He has served as assistant director of the Education System Reform Office, first secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deputy director of the General Affairs Division of the Minister's Secretariat, and team leader of the School Digitalization Project, before assuming his current position in April 2024.

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Speakers

Ryosuke Nakanishi

No-Side, Inc. CEO, Inclusive Executive Director, Jellyfish Pavillion

President of No-Side, Inc. We support children and adults with severe disabilities who need medical care in Osaka. No matter how severe the disability, we provide a place where children can feel safe, a chance to connect with society, and an environment where they can work no matter how severe their disability is! This is the theme of No Side.

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Nitta Yoshihiro

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd.

He started cross-country skiing in the third grade of elementary school, and was scouted to represent Japan before the 1998 Nagano Paralympics. Since then, he has competed in seven consecutive Paralympics, winning three gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. He has a strong presence as a leading legend in Japanese paralympic cross-country skiing.

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Kishizawa Hiroki

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd.

He started wheelchair athletics in 2018 and won the Newcomer Award at the Oita International Wheelchair Half-Marathon the following year. He was selected as a training athlete by the Japan Para-Athletics Federation in 2022. He set a new Japanese record at an international competition in Sharjah, UAE in February of this year. He will continue to grow with the aim of competing in the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028.

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Koichi WADA

NEXT VISION

Born in Ehime Prefecture in 1958. Diagnosed with an incurable retinal disease when he was in the second year of junior high school, he became blind at the age of 30.
He worked as a teacher at a school for the blind for 35 years, promoting information education for the visually impaired
and was also involved in software development.

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Rinka Saito

Works in marketing at a foreign-affiliated firm

Born in 2002 in Aichi, Japan, Rinka Saito was born with a profound congenital hearing impairment. She has continued to raise her voice through public speaking, winning the Prime Minister’s Cup and the Minister of Education’s Cup. After engaging in volunteer work at the Ukrainian border and joining a women’s political leadership program, she graduated top of her class from Waseda University in 2025 and now works at a global company.

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Mitsunobu NOBUTA

Hitachi Medical Information Solutions Co., Ltd. General Affairs Department

I am hearing impaired and have been working at Hitachi for over 30 years.
I have been a member of the Japanese national team for about 20 years, and have participated in the Deaflympics six times. I am now using my experience to coach Deaf Kids Volleyball and volleyball in other areas.
After the Expo, the next event will be the Tokyo Deaflympics, so let's have a great time together! Thank you very much.

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Erkki T. Lassila

Kobe University Graduate School of Human Development and Environment Assistant professor

Lassila’s research focuses on teacher’s work as relational and emotional practice in different socio-cultural contexts, comparative perspectives in education, gifted education as a challenge to mainstream education and teacher thinking, and narrative methodologies in educational research. His research is influenced by the cross-cultural position of one with experiences of teaching in Finnish schools, working as teacher education and investigating teacher stories in both countries. He is a country delegate of Japan for the Asia-Pacific Federation on Giftedness (APFG) and World Council for Gifted and Talented Education, Visiting Associate Professor at Ehime University Centre for Gifted Education and Talent Development.

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Zach Lieberman

Artist and Professor, MIT Media Lab

Zach Lieberman is an artist and researcher working with generative and interactive systems. Based in New York, he's best known for co-creating openFrameworks, an open-source C++ toolkit for creative coding, and co-founding the School for Poetic Computation. Lieberman creates installations that transform human gestures into playful digital experiences, earning recognition including the Golden Nica from Ars Electronica and features in Time Magazine's Best Inventions. He currently leads the Future Sketches research group at MIT Media Lab, continuing his exploration of code as a medium for poetic expression.

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Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis

ガーナ教育サービス/ケープコースト大学教授

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Learning and Playing Week

Inclusive JAM “We are ALL MINORITIES!!!”

People from diverse backgrounds—encompassing gender, disabilities, illnesses, nationality, and race—will come together to connect and engage with one another. Through enjoyable and meaningful interactions, we seek to foster dialogue in areas that are often challenging to explore deeply. Together, we will envision how to build a future society where diverse lives can truly shine. Embracing the key phrase "We Are All Minorities!", we will reflect on and celebrate our unique traits, strengths and weaknesses, and differences, striving to create a society where everyone can freely express and cherish what they love.

  • 2025.07.27[Sun]

    10:0012:30

    (Venue Open 09:45)

  • Theme Weeks Studio
  • * Programme times and content are subject to change. Any changes will be announced on this website and via the ticket booking system.
  • * The schedule is subject to change depending on the organiser's circumstances.

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Learning and Playing Week

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