Hungarian-Japanese Club at the Osaka Expo

The Hungarian-Japanese Economic Club (MJGK) was founded in 1971 to provide information, events and networking opportunities for companies and individuals interested in improving economic cooperation between Hungary and Japan. It comes as no surprise that this year, the Club’s activities are mainly related to the world exposition to be held in Osaka. Diplomacy&Trade talked to Club officials about MJGK’s preparation for – and participation at – the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.

The Osaka world exposition has long been on the agenda of the Hungarian-Japanese Economic Club. A year ago, MJGK President Dr. László Urbán told Diplomacy&Trade that this matter required the most immediate and very intensive work in the preparation for the participation in that event: “We are trying to move all the stones that are not part of the official state tasks. We are trying to encourage our club members, the Hungarian or mainly Hungarian-owned enterprises, to bring their products, whether intellectual or physical, to the Osaka World Expo. If they have products that we consider worthy of the world exposition, we can provide contacts and perhaps other support for the Hungarian entrepreneurs who would like to exhibit there.”

Bringing together interested partners
As to what this 'intensive work' have entailed since, Dr László Urbán now notes that “we discussed with Dr. Miklós Horváth, one of the Vice Presidents of the MJGK, that the whole point is to bring together a good number of Hungarian and Japanese companies with a sufficient interest during the two days when our club will have the opportunity to host potential or even existing partners in the Hungarian Pavilion of the World Expo. In this respect, Dr. Horváth has just been in talks with the Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists (MGYOSZ), who are very interested in this opportunity, and they have already named six or eight partners, some of whom Miklós has met, who are 90% sure to go and represent the Hungarian side in the Hungarian Pavilion at those meetings. The hard part is locating and finding potentially interested Japanese partners and convincing them that this will be a successful event. Of course, our basic aim is to prove that we can, as a club, even if we don't broker business in concrete terms, bring together partners who might be interested.”
Dr. Urbán's predecessor, Sándor Kiss, who was at the helm of the organization for two decades, adds that there are thematic weeks at the Expo and the first of these thematic blocks is the people-to-people, business-to-business communication. “Organizers expect 22 million people, 18-19 million of them Japanese, to attend the Osaka World Expo. Those who visit the Hungarian Pavilion will leave with a lot of knowledge about the Hungarian economy and Hungary in general.”

Hope for reigniting economic relations
As far as Hungarian-Japanese economic relations are concerned, Hungarian organizers expect the Hungarian Pavilion at the World Expo to play an important role. Dr. László Urbán has the impression that Japan has been somewhat overshadowed in Hungarian foreign policy in recent years. "I suppose that since the war in our neighborhood has received more attention in Japan's foreign policy, they have not really been concerned about developing these economic relations, and neither have we. I am convinced that if peace is achieved in the near future, it could be a momentum for both Japan and Hungary to perhaps start to pay more attention to each other." In this respect, the recently announced very serious viral infection in animals (hoof-and-mouth disease), could be a considerable problem, as a significant part of exports to Japan is pork and meat products, which are difficult to compensate for in bilateral trade.

Foresting Architecture
Takenaka Europe GmbH Hungary branch, whose parent company, Takenaka Corporation is one of five major general contractors in Japan, is a member of the Hungarian-Japanese Economic Club. As László Tóth, the Head of the Promotion Department at the Hungary Branch – and also one of the Vice Presidents of MJGK – highlights, the company has carried out numerous construction works in the expo area.
“Takenaka Corporation provides the ’Seeds Paper Pavilion’, which it has been developing since 2021, as temporary structures that visitors can use to rest and relax during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. This is ’Foresting Architecture’ for the Future Society Showcase Project (Green Expo). In this architecture of the future, the structure created by people becomes a seed that will grow into a forest when its use is finished, rather than one that will become waste at the end of its use. The Seeds Paper Pavilion consists of two buildings, each with a diameter of 4.65 m and a height of 2.95 m. The material used is CAFBLO, a biodegradable and transparent cellulose acetate resin produced by Daicel. The 3D printed material is used as the structural material, and the exterior is made of handmade Japanese paper and plants created at various events. It is the world's largest building made from 3D printed biodegradable resin.”
Although, the exposition only opens in mid-April, the pavilion, which is a fusion of state-of-the-art technology and hand-crafted construction, has already received a distinction. Last October, Foresting Architecture was recognized by Guinness World Records as the “largest 3D-printed biodegradable building (monolithic).” Exterior and greening work to affix washi (Japanese paper) to the structure will be undertaken in the future. In addition to washi made by traditional craftsmen, washi “seed paper” made at a workshop with plant seeds in it was combined with washi made at a welfare facility.

Lectures at the Hungarian Pavilion
Sándor Kiss, as a former president of the Club, applied to be a keynote speaker at the World Expo. “In addition to the Hungarian National Archives and the Hungarian-Japanese Economic Club, I was invited to give a lecture by Yoshiyuki Shimizu, the head of the Japan-Hungarian Friendship Society in Japan, and the organizers also accepted my offer to give a lecture on the sculptor Nándor Wagner, who lived and worked in Japan. These lectures will take place in the Hungarian Pavilion in May.”

Assistance by the Embassy
There is, of course, close cooperation between the Hungarian-Japanese Economic Club and the Japanese Embassy in connection with the World Expo. As Sándor Kiss points out "the Japanese Ambassador herself is supporting the cause and has assigned two staff members to help us – mainly to bridge the communication gap with Japanese in Hungary who are generally reticent and difficult to reach and have not joined the Club as members.”

Opportunities for the Club
In conclusion, Dr. László Urbán highlights that the Hungarian Japan Economic Club has the opportunity to use one of the levels of the Hungarian Pavilion, the so-called B2B level, on May 7 and 8 to invite Hungarian and potential Japanese economic partners to join the Club, “because this is a place for the development of existing relationships and the establishment of new relationships and to establish contacts. Of course, we would also like to do a bit of advertising for ourselves as a club, so that we can lay an even better foundation for the future of this very traditional club, which has a long history and is still in operation.”