Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week
Time For Peace
UN Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Peace Boat
Discussion
- Peace, Human Security, Disarmament/Nuclear Non-Proliferation, International Cooperation
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Not provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | English |
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Theme Weeks CONNECT
- Time and
Date of
the event -
-
2025.08.10[Sun]
15:30 ～ 20:00
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- Venue
- Theme Weeks Connect (Outside Venue)
- Onboard the ‘Pacific World’ passenger ship (Osaka Tempozan Cruise Terminal, 3-chōme-11-8 Chikkō, Minato Ward, Osaka, 552-0021)
Programme details
This special event will be held aboard the Pacific World, Peace Boat’s 78,000-ton passenger ship. As an official event of the Theme Weeks Connect under the Peace, Human Security, and Dignity Theme Week at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, this reception will serve as a unique occasion for dialogue and exchange among global stakeholders dedicated to promoting peace, human security, and dignity. The reception aims to foster meaningful international cooperation by convening representatives of Expo 2025 pavilions, government officials, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, artists, scholars, youth leaders, and media professionals engaged in peacebuilding and the promotion of human dignity.
Reports
【Reflection】
The United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and the international NGO Peace Boat hosted an event titled “Time for Peace” on 10 August 2025. Organized as part of the Theme Week Connect program during the “Peace, Human Security and Dignity” Theme Week, the event marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, offering a timely opportunity to reflect on and reaffirm the value of peace.
The event took place aboard Peace Boat’s passenger ship Pacific World (78,000 tons), bringing together around 650 participants from over 60 countries and regions, including representatives of national pavilions, international organizations, governments, local authorities, civil society, and the media.
The first session, held at the ship’s Princess Theater, featured keynote speeches from leaders of the UN, Peace Boat, and other organizations working for peace. Speakers included Maher Nasser (Commissioner-General of the UN Pavilion, UN Assistant Secretary-General), Izumi Nakamitsu (UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs), Oussouby Sacko (Vice Chairperson of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, President of SackOmi), Terumi Tanaka (Co-Chair of Nihon Hidankyo, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2024), Melissa Parke (Executive Director of ICAN, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2017), Minami Hobara (Head of Japan Red Cross in Ukraine), and Tatsuya Yoshioka (Co-founder of Peace Boat). Each delivered passionate messages on the importance of peace and international cooperation.
The program also featured live performances. Violinist Eijin Nimura, UNESCO Artist for Peace, performed on stage, followed by the popular boy group JO1, who presented their own songs with dance.
After the talks, a reception was held in the ship’s atrium. Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, gave a toast, followed by a kagami-biraki sake barrel ceremony with the session’s speakers.
The evening concluded with a spectacular maritime drone show by Red Cliff. A fleet of drones illuminated the night sky with dynamic formations, depicting a peace dove, the “Time for Peace” logo, among others.
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
In addition to “Time for Peace”, which was held in line with the Theme Week on “Peace, Human Security and Dignity,” the UN Pavilion organized a wide range of exhibitions and events on the same theme. Beginning on 5 August, the Pavilion hosted its 14th special exhibition, curated by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), which showcased 12 posters on the theme of disarmament. A dedicated corner invited visitors, including many children, to draw their own visions of a “world without weapons.”
On 11 August, the Pavilion hosted the panel discussion “Future Code: Youth × AI Peace Dialogue” organized by UNODA. Moderated by Professor Toshie Takahashi of Waseda University, the panel featured Izumi Nakamitsu (UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs), Hayato Sadavrati (UNODA Youth Leader Fund for a World Without Nuclear Weapons), Shizuka Kuramitsu (Research Assistant at the Arms Control Association, USA), and Professor Chikako Ueki (Waseda University). The discussion explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can serve as a transformative tool for peace and security while also presenting new risks, with a focus on perspectives from young people.
The following day, 12 August, the Pavilion had the honor of welcoming two Hibakusha, Ms. Koko Kondo and Mr. Hiroshi Kanamoto, survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Both have dedicated decades to promoting peace and passing on their experiences to future generations. Moderated by Izumi Nakamitsu, the panel session “Securing Our Common Future: Conversations on the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons” also featured Ms. Anju Niwata, who presented her project using artificial intelligence to colorize black-and-white photographs taken at the time.
For the UN Pavilion, “Time for Peace” was an opportunity to reaffirm collaborations with other pavilions, companies, organizations, and academic institutions that have supported its activities over the past four months and beyond. At the same time, the event created valuable new connections with participants who were joining for the first time, enabling a meaningful exchange on the shared pursuit of peace. With two months remaining until the close of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, the UN Pavilion will continue through its exhibitions and events to raise awareness of peace, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the broad spectrum of UN activities.
Cast
Speakers
Maher Nasser
UN
Maher Nasser has over 36 years of work experience in the United Nations System during which he has worked in Amman, Cairo, Dubai, Gaza, New York and Vienna. He is currently the Director of Outreach in the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
Maher leads the Department’s engagement with civil society, academia, sports / football and the creative community, including the advertising industry and was recently appointed as the Commissioner-General of the United Nations at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
Maher Nasser is a reluctant runner and is married with three grown children.
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Izumi Nakamitsu
United Nations
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu has served as UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs since 1 May 2017. Before this, she was Assistant Administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at UNDP. She has extensive experience in and outside the UN system, including as Special Adviser on the follow-up to the 2016 Refugee and Migrant Summit, Director of the Asia and Middle East Division in UN Peacekeeping, and Director of Policy, Evaluation and Training.
From 2005 to 2008, she was a Professor of International Relations at Hitotsubashi University and served as a senior adviser on peacebuilding for JICA and as a Foreign Ministry council member. She also held senior roles at International IDEA in Sweden and worked with the UN Reform Team under Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Earlier, she served with UNHCR in various capacities, including in the former Yugoslavia, Turkey, and northern Iraq.
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Tatsuya Yoshioka
Peace Boat
Yoshioka Tatsuya is the founder of Peace Boat, an NGO established in 1983, and has dedicated over 40 years to international work in education, peace, and sustainability. An NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council and a global campaigner for the SDGs, Peace Boat has organized over 100 worldwide voyages for peace, engaging more than 80,000 people in study, peacebuilding, volunteering, and cultural exchange. Peace Boat's programs have included peace education for youth from conflict zones, ocean and climate capacity-development youth programs, and disaster relief initiatives. Peace Boat is an International Steering Group member of ICAN, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate organization. Yoshioka is Board Chair of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and has addressed the United Nations on topics including a Culture of Peace, ocean protection and the climate crisis. Yoshioka leads Peace Boat's Ecoship Project to develop the world's most sustainable cruise ship.
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Terumi Tanaka
Nihon Hidankyo
Born in 1932 in northeastern China, Tanaka graduated from the Tokyo University of Science Department of Physics with a Doctor of Engineering. He moved to Nagasaki in 1938 following the death of his father, where on August 9, 1945, in his first year at Nagasaki Prefectural Junior High School, he was exposed to the atomic bomb 3.2 kilometers from the hypocenter. The lives of five family members were taken instantly. Since 1972 he has been involved in the Hibakusha movement, serving as an officer of the Miyagi Prefecture A-bomb Victims Association and Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations). He became Secretary-General of Nihon Hidankyo in 2000 and Co-Chair in 2017.
In December 2024, Tanaka delivered the Nobel Lecture at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on behalf of Nihon Hidankyo. Co-chair of the Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition and President of the Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
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Melissa Parke
Executive Director, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
Melissa is a former Australian Minister for International Development and former Member of Parliament for the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2016. As an MP, she regularly voiced support for nuclear disarmament, including as a member of a cross-party parliamentary group dedicated to the cause. Prior to entering the Australian Parliament, Ms Parke served as an international lawyer with the United Nations in Kosovo, Gaza, New York and Lebanon. More recently, she served as a member of the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen.
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Oussouby Sacko
Former President of Kyoto Seika University, Director of the Institute for University-wide Research and Information Center, Professor of Human Environment Design Program (Department of Architecture)
Oussouby SACKO was born in the Republic of Mali. Upon graduating from high school, he received a government scholarship to study in China, then later came to Japan in 1991. In 1999, he completed his doctoral studies in architecture at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He specializes in spatial anthropology and has conducted research on the relationship between society and architecture from various perspectives. He is multilingual, speaking Bambara, English, French, Chinese, and Kansai dialect. After serving as a faculty member and dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Kyoto Seika University, he served as President of Kyoto Seika University from 2018 to 2022. Currently, he serves as Vice President (Director) and Director of Overseas Communications for the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition.
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Minami Hobara
Head of Japan Red Cross in Ukraine
Ms Hobara has been engaged with the Japanese Red Cross Society in relief activities for events such as the Philippine typhoon and the Turkey earthquake, as well as being seconded to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), engaging in conflict-related humanitarian aid in Myanmar, Nigeria, and other locations. Since May 2024, she has been stationed in Kyiv, Ukraine, responsible for the overall coordination of the Japanese Red Cross's local support.
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Eijin Nimura
Started to visit the United States for private tuition every year since 1980. Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts, after attending the Senior High School of Music attached to the Faculty of Music. Awarded first prize at the International Music Competition of Japan, as well winning a number of other music competitions from childhood. He launched his career in 1996, performing mostly outside of Japan to acclaim. In recognition of his numerous social activities, he was appointed “UNESCO Artist for Peace” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1998, the first Japanese to be chosen.
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©LAPONE ENTERTAINMENT
JO1
A global boy group of 11 members selected by viewers on Japan’s largest audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN.” In 2025, they are embarking on a world tour with 8 performances in 6 cities including New York City and Los Angeles, where they will perform at the LA Dodger Stadium. Their latest song "BE CLASSIC" has ranked on the US radio chart "Mediabase Top100 Radio Airplay" for the first time as a Japanese boy group, expanding their global activities. The group name "JO1" has the meaning that the trainees who pursued their dreams together in "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN" will become one and aim for the top of the world.
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Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week
Time For Peace
-
2025.08.10[Sun]
15:30～20:00
(Venue Open 15:30)
- Theme Weeks Connect (Outside Venue)
- * 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.
OTHER PROGRAM
Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week
