World Expo 2025 commences in Japan

World Expo opened on Sunday with 160 countries and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food, with host Japan hoping to provide the world with some much-needed hope.

Highlights at the show in Osaka until mid-October include a Mars meteorite, a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells and Hello Kitty figures in algae form. Surrounding most of the pavilions a chance for architects' fancies to run wild is the world's largest wooden structure, the "Grand Ring". Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also said the event would help bring a sense of unity in a "divided society."