A pavilion where ideas meet

The Japan National Tourism organisation (JNTO) has opened its Dubai office on Monday, its first overseas office in the Middle East. “2022 is an important year for us, being the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the United Arab Emirates. By opening the JNTO Dubai office now, we aim to contribute to the further development of tourism exchange between Japan, the UAE, and the wider GCC,” says Tomoko Kikuchi, Executive Director of the JNTO Dubai Office.

By 2030, Japan aims to attract 60 million visitors with a JPY 15 trillion consumption annually. The Middle East is a priority market for the organisation and a key focus in achieving this goal, with the opening of the JNTO Dubai office playing a major part in the efforts to attract more visitors from the region.

The Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai has been a key highlight of the event, with its architecture being a three-dimensional expression of Japanese origami combining traditional Arabesque and Japanese asanoha motifs, as well as a natural cooling system incorporating Arabic and Japanese techniques.

A diverse range of Japanese content centered around the theme “Where ideas meet” is presented as an exciting exhibition utilising cutting-edge technologies. Visitors gained a sense of how new interactions can lead to a better future through exchange of ideas – as has been the case historically in Japan. Visitors will also be encouraged to post their own ideas and thoughts, paving the way for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai to be held in Japan.

New ideas are born when people with diferent identities and perspectives meet; let us come together to create a better future. Experience the frst step in a 360-degree theatre integrating cutting-edge data technolog y with real-time generated graphic art.

Expo’s mission is to provide “a place to solve humanity’s challenges”.

Throughout the six-month period of Expo 2020 Dubai, 10 Theme Weeks will be held to focus on our most critical challenges, and people from all over the world, from various fields, gathered to discuss the issues in depth. An astronaut YAMAZAKI Naoko, Japan Pavilion PR ambassador, participated in the Space Week, one of the 10 Theme Weeks, which took place from Oct.17 to 23, 2021.

In 2010, YAMAZAKI was engaged in the mission STS-131, an assembly and resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), and flew as a Mission Specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. She will take part in a variety of events hosted by Expo and different countries’ pavilions to discuss the future of the space field with experts from around the world.

Panasonic, one of the main sponsors of the Dubai Expo 2020 Japan pavilion, held a Corporate Day on Oct.19.

Panasonic demonstrated projection mapping and mist solution in the exhibition area of the Japan Pavilion,

aiming to provide visitors with a cutting-edge immersive entertainment experience.

On this day, Panasonic invited business partners and press to promote healthy, safe and comfort living space under “new normal”

by introducing its latest solutions such as indoor air quality and the IoT-enabled connected home solutions in addition to the entertainment solutions.

To all general visitors at the Japan Pavilion, Panasonic gave away traditional Japanese fans on this day. In light of the fact that Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan will be held in Japan, Kikuchi adds: “JNTO will be holding an event at the Expo to promote tourism to the country in collaboration with the Japan Pavilion as well as the authorities of Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City. We would also like visitors to the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai to find out more about the charm of Japan.”

Interest in Japan in the UAE is high this year, with two Emirati athletes bringing home three medals from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. New Japanese restaurants continue to open across the city, and Japanese traditional culture is attracting more attention, with the first Emirati ikebana teacher receiving certification.

“At the Arabian Travel Market Hybrid event that was held in May this year I was happy to hear from many travel agencies that they are eager to resume their trips to Japan,” says Kikuchi.

In 2019, Japan saw a record high number of visitors from the GCC countries with 28,222 visitors making the journey, a 28.4 per cent increase on the previous year and the figure doubling in the past five years. According to a survey conducted by the JNTO in six GCC countries from May to June 2021, approximately 30 per cent of respondents answered that they would like to go to Japan in the future. Shopping, relaxing at resorts and hotels, and appreciating the abundant nature were ranked high as reasons to travel to Japan.

Conversely, almost 40 per cent of the respondents answered that “I don’t know much about Japan”, presenting an opportunity for the JNTO Dubai office to broaden awareness of the many attractions of the destination, further increasing interest in travel to Japan and increasing the number of visitors from the GCC in the future.

The JNTO Dubai office is located in Office No. 806 of the Shangri-La Hotel located on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road and open from 8:30 to 17:00, Sunday to Thursday.

Japan National Tourism organisation (JNTO) is a governmental organisation, which belongs to the same group as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and Japan Tourism Agency. With international offices in major cities around the world, JNTO aims to promote inbound tourism to Japan, providing comprehensive information about the country and the unique experiences on offer.

JNTO is the entity responsible for implementing marketing and promotion of inbound tourism in accordance with the country’s inbound travel policies. With a focus on promoting Japan as a world-leading travel destination to the rest of the world, JNTO provides support for the planning and sales of travel products to Japan, develops new tourism revenue streams, and carries out general on-the-ground activities to attract international visitors, including support for local communities in their efforts to promote tourism.

Since ancient times, encounters with external influences have played a key role in the development of Japanese culture and learning, as ideas from the outside have been embraced and reinterpreted to create something new and uniquely Japanese.

Moving towards the future, Japan will continue to be a place where ideas from around the world meet. And by bringing these ideas together to spark new innovation, Japan will work to create a better tomorrow.

Japan has long lived in awe of and harmony with its unsparing natural environment. This exhibition introduces the “story of encounters”—comprised of the country’s unspoiled landscape, the sensibilities cultivated by its populace, and the cultural heritage that has been woven through its history.

Immersive videos and spatial expressions will invite visitors to step inside this fascinating story. Encountering Japan1Culture in Japan has evolved in a unique way, incorporating outside knowledge and skills while maintaining its own distinct national identity.

This scene looks back over Japanese history in an otherworldly visual space led with coating mist. Culture and history Japanese innovation is not solely about high-end technology; instead, it has drawn inspiration from both nature and traditional culture. Explore modern Japan and its future through a series of cute, elaborate miniatures (mitate) using day-to-day objects.

Innovation and Economic growth and globalisation have brought new challenges, both in Japan and in the world as a whole. Visitors will walk through an infnity mirror room which juxtaposes their own images with those depicting social and environmental challenges facing the world today.