Crowds at the ITER stand
Nearly 8 million people have passed through the gates of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, since it opened on 13 April. At the ITER stand, a steady stream of visitors is learning how a collaboration of 33 countries is building the largest tokamak in the world.
One-third of the way through EXPO 2025, the visitor numbers are strong. Some 7,818,321 people have marveled at the extravagant architecture of the 188 pavilions that showcase cultural identity, futuristic technology, and the wonder of science. This past Sunday alone 149,000 people passed through the gate; millions more are expected before the curtain drops on 13 October 2025.
The ITER project, presented inside the International Organizations pavilion, is also drawing a lot of attention. Besides families, other members of the public, and interested young researchers, official delegations have been passing through the exhibit several times a week requesting detailed information about the status of ITER and the fusion energy landscape in general.
ITER and fusion pair well with the theme of "EXPO 2025: Designing Future Society for Our Lives." Japan's Takashi Inoue, Deputy Director General of the Naka Fusion Institute (National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology), has this to say about his experience at the ITER stand:
"The Expo is truly a showcase of the future of the world. I was at the Osaka World Expo in 1970, where I saw a moon rock, the Apollo capsule, and even a Soyuz space ship from Soviet Union. This year, in addition to sand from the far side of the mooon (Chinese pavilion) and samples from an asteroid (Japanese Pavilion), we also have ITER! Many visitors are surprized to see the gigantic superconducting magnets that have already been manufactured and delivered from Japan to the ITER site, and to learn that the ITER fusion reactor is being assembled now. It is my great pleasure to tell them that fusion energy is in their future!"
ITER will be hosting a dedicated day on fusion energy on Sunday 13 July. The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the National Day Hall.
See impressions, and the detailed program for Fusion Day, in the gallery below.
