2025 World Expo, Japan "Future City" Pavilion "Kubota Germination Lab"

The "Future City" pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo) is a joint exhibit project by the Expo Association and 12 other sponsors. The Kubota Germination Lab is a research institute that considers the future of "food and agriculture" that is friendly to people and the earth, by confronting people's wishes and global issues.
This was a forum for participants to realize and think about the importance of each individual thinking about the entire food system, from production to consumption, and the importance of communicating the technology that supports the food system, as well as the fact that life, food, and agriculture are connected from the past to the present and into the future, and that they too play a role in this.

Food and society have always been closely related, and we have now moved from a hunting and gathering society through agriculture, industry and the information society, and are now entering a new era known as Society 5.0*.
However, the issues surrounding "food and agriculture" are becoming increasingly complex and serious, such as the world's population growth, global environmental issues, the decline in the agricultural workforce in Japan, food waste, etc. These issues cannot be solved by those who produce alone, and must be addressed by the entire food system, including those who transport, process, and eat.
Therefore, there was a need to create an experience that would "sprout" new ideas and awaken new realizations in visitors, allowing farmers, consumers, and all people involved in the food system to have fun, think about issues as if they were their own concerns, and work together to explore a better future.

*A concept of the future society advocated by the Japanese government. A human-centered society that balances economic development with the resolution of social issues through a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space.

Through an immersive experience in a 25-meter projection and large LED screen, a simulation game that explores the future from the perspective of an agricultural manager, and displays of Kubota's next-generation agricultural robot that automatically changes implements* and attachments to perform fully autonomous work, we aimed to create a space where visitors could reflect on the past, present, and future of "food and agriculture" and discover possibilities for creating a better future.

*A wide variety of machinery used for tilling the soil.