Murray Family’s Quest to Locate MIA New Zealand at Expo 2025
Off The Top of My Head
By Paul Murray
My family and I recently flew to Tokyo on our annual pilgrimage to visit my wife Sanae’s parents. This year. we also visited the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
It was supposed to be a grand cultural exchange—an opportunity to see how nations present themselves and to proudly check out the New Zealand pavilion to see how we stack up against the world, but as we arrived at the venue beneath the myriad national flags, Aotearoa was not to be found….Crickets!
We flew from Karamea to Tokyo, transferred to the shinkansen, and barrelled down to Osaka at 300km/h. We battled through tides of people, stood for hours in a line in the baking sun, and spent thousands of dollars—not to mention a sizable chunk of our family holiday in the hunt for the New Zealand pavillion/display.
It was 37°C in the shade! Seriously HOT and HUMID…I drank six litres of water that day and, miraculously, never once had to visit the urinals. My pores turned me into a human sprinkler system.
But Expo 2025 itself? Absolutely fantastic. An awe-inspiring collection of nations showing off their best sides—art, culture, history, technology, food, sport, music, innovation. Many countries I’d never thought twice about now have a permanent place in my imagination. Palau? Turns out they’ve got some fascinating ideas about ocean conservation. Tuvalu? Yes, Tuvalu—population 9,646—was there with a display, proudly waving the flag and showing the world what they’re about.
To put a bit of perspective on the size of the exposition, the area inside the wooden ring that surrounds the pavillions is a little over 6 ha. The event runs from April 13 to October 13, 2025. Over 200,000 people per day visit the show and the total number of visitors is expected to exceed 28 million. According to the Asia Pacific Institute of Research, the event will boost the local Osaka economy by an estimated $US20 billion as visitors take the opportunity to explore the region after attending the EXPO.
The Japanese, whose penchant for cute animated characters is well known, have really raised the “kawaii” bar with the Osaka EXPO mascot MYAKU-MYAKU, an amorphous. multi-eyed, happy and colourful character who has won the hearts of EXPO attendees and become he event’s icon. The character, which appears to be sexless and possibly prefers the pronoun “it,” has also spawned a myriad or merchandising opportunities and the character adorns everything from towels, key chains, cookies, pens and hats to umbrellas, shoes, watches and even underpants! (There is also a MYAKU-MYAKU tamagochi!)
Meet World EXPO Osaka Mascot “MYAKU-MYAKU”
“MYAKU-MYAKU” is a mysterious being born from the fusion of cells and water. The red parts symbolize life’s dividing, multiplying cells, while the blue represents pure, ever-changing water. Constantly shifting shape, MYAKU-MYAKU sometimes forgets its own original form, but for now it has taken on a human-like appearance. It thrives in sunlight, delights in rainy days, and eagerly absorbs rain into its body. Dreaming of being recognised by all before Expo 2025 in Osaka, MYAKU-MYAKU looks forward to meeting people from around the world.
MYAKU-MYAKU Bio:
Birthplace:A small spring somewhere in Kansai.
Personality:Friendly but goofy, often making silly mistakes.
Special Skills:Able to change its shape into various forms and finding rainbows after it rains.
Favourite Thing to Do:Interacting with all kinds of living beings and things
Over 150 countries and regions have displays at the EXPO (76% of countries in the world). These countries did not attend World EXPO in Osaka in 2025: Greece, Mexico, Estonia, Argentina, Niue, Russia, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran due to issues like financial instability or political tensions with Japan. while New Zealand did not have a pavilion due to a lack of government commitment.
Tonga was there. Fiji was there. Nauru—yes, Nauru—was there (Pop. 11,497). Even Papua New Guinea had a presence. But New Zealand? The land of the All Blacks, Middle-earth, kiwifruit, and pineapple lumps? AWOL. Nowhere. Zip. Nada. Not a bean. The Kiwi Pavilion was as extinct as the moa.
Is New Zealand really that broke? Could we not scrape together enough coins from back of the couch to put up at least a modest stall in the Commons Pavilion? Maybe a card table with some Whittaker’s samples, a bloke with a guitar strumming Crowded House, an All Black haka, and a looping video of Milford Sound?
Instead, New Zealanders abroad had to endure the humiliation of explaining that our country was too busy or too poor or too disorganised to show up at the biggest international showcase of the decade. What message does that send? Don’t come visit? Don’t invest? We’re closed until further notice?
Ironically, the only NZ representation I found was at Disneyland, in the “It’s a Small World After All” ride. There, a smiling Māori lady in a grass skirt and two kiwis standing under cabbage trees swaying back and forth. It wasn’t much, but hey—it was something. Compared to EXPO 2025, Disney is making us look good.
So here we are, watching the world march proudly onto the global stage while New Zealand lurks backstage, mumbling, “Yeah-Nah, mate, not today.” Meanwhile, Tuvalu’s out there punching well above its weight, proving that even the smallest voices can be heard—while ours is MIA.
If this is our international strategy, then perhaps New Zealand’s new motto should be:
Letter to N.Z. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon requesting an answer as to why New Zealand failed to show up at the most significant international promotional forum: World EXPO Osaka 2025:
September 19, 2025
The Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister of New Zealand Parliament Buildings Wellington, New Zealand
Cc: Hon Todd McClay, Minister of Trade Cc: Hon Matt Doocey, Minister for Economic Development Cc: Hon Louise Upton, Minister of Tourism Cc: Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Cc: Hon Christopher Hipkins Leader of the Opposition
Subject: Absence of a New Zealand Presence at Expo 2025, Osaka
Dear Prime Minister,
As a proud New Zealand resident, deeply committed to my community and the future of our country. I recently travelled with my wife, who is Japanese, and our two New Zealand-born children to visit Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. While we were greatly impressed by the international displays of culture, innovation, trade, and tourism from around the world, we were disheartened to discover that New Zealand had no pavilion, exhibition, or visible presence at the event.
Expo 2025 is an extraordinary opportunity for nations to showcase their art, culture, traditions, food, technology, history, innovations, sport, and music on the world stage. With over 200,000 visitors per day between April and October, the Expo offers unparalleled exposure to prospective tourists, investors, and business collaborators. Countries both large and small—Tuvalu included—were represented with pride and impact. Australia’s pavilion, for example, was so popular that we were unable to gain entry due to long queues.
By contrast, New Zealand’s absence was conspicuous. It was, frankly, embarrassing not to find our country represented, and it left my family and I concerned about the message this sends internationally. What impression are we leaving with the millions of visitors attending this event? That New Zealand has nothing to offer? That we are closed for investment? That we do not wish to promote our culture, products, services, and innovations to the world?
Understandably, some countries—such as Russia—are absent for specific geopolitical reasons. However, New Zealand’s omission raises troubling questions. Was this a deliberate policy decision? If so, who made it, and on what grounds? Was the decision financial? If so, what does it signal about our priorities and ability to invest in opportunities for trade, tourism, and global collaboration?
New Zealand has so much to offer such as world-class art, culture, technology, food, and natural beauty. To miss the chance to share this with a global audience feels like a significant lost opportunity—not only for tourism and trade, but for the international reputation of our nation.
I respectfully request clarification on:
Why New Zealand chose not to participate in Expo 2025?
Who made the decision and what factors influenced it?
What assessment has been made of the potential consequences for New Zealand’s international profile, trade, and tourism?
Are there are plans to ensure New Zealand participates in future Expositions or similar global showcases?
As proud NZ resident and patriot who loves this country and confidently represents it abroad, I believe the New Zealand absence in Osaka reflects poorly on the country, and I hope the Government will provide reassurance that this was not a missed opportunity without careful consideration and that due consideration is given to showcase Aotearoa in the next World EXPO in Belgrade in 2027.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. I look forward to your response.
Yours Sincerely,
Paul John Murray
(Contact Details Supplied)
Response from Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Trade and Investment and Foreign Affairs, The Hon Todd McClay
Paul Murray is the founder of the LivinginPeace Project.
www.livinginpeace.com
Paul originally from Australia, but have been living in New Zealand for 14 years. Before that he was in Japan for a decade working as a journalist. He met his wife Sanae in Japan and they married in 2008.
The Rongolian Star 
Aotearoa AWOL at Osaka World EXPO
Murray Family’s Quest to Locate MIA New Zealand at Expo 2025
Off The Top of My Head
By Paul Murray
My family and I recently flew to Tokyo on our annual pilgrimage to visit my wife Sanae’s parents. This year. we also visited the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
It was supposed to be a grand cultural exchange—an opportunity to see how nations present themselves and to proudly check out the New Zealand pavilion to see how we stack up against the world, but as we arrived at the venue beneath the myriad national flags, Aotearoa was not to be found….Crickets!
We flew from Karamea to Tokyo, transferred to the shinkansen, and barrelled down to Osaka at 300km/h. We battled through tides of people, stood for hours in a line in the baking sun, and spent thousands of dollars—not to mention a sizable chunk of our family holiday in the hunt for the New Zealand pavillion/display.
It was 37°C in the shade! Seriously HOT and HUMID…I drank six litres of water that day and, miraculously, never once had to visit the urinals. My pores turned me into a human sprinkler system.
But Expo 2025 itself? Absolutely fantastic. An awe-inspiring collection of nations showing off their best sides—art, culture, history, technology, food, sport, music, innovation. Many countries I’d never thought twice about now have a permanent place in my imagination. Palau? Turns out they’ve got some fascinating ideas about ocean conservation. Tuvalu? Yes, Tuvalu—population 9,646—was there with a display, proudly waving the flag and showing the world what they’re about.
To put a bit of perspective on the size of the exposition, the area inside the wooden ring that surrounds the pavillions is a little over 6 ha. The event runs from April 13 to October 13, 2025. Over 200,000 people per day visit the show and the total number of visitors is expected to exceed 28 million. According to the Asia Pacific Institute of Research, the event will boost the local Osaka economy by an estimated $US20 billion as visitors take the opportunity to explore the region after attending the EXPO.
The Japanese, whose penchant for cute animated characters is well known, have really raised the “kawaii” bar with the Osaka EXPO mascot MYAKU-MYAKU, an amorphous. multi-eyed, happy and colourful character who has won the hearts of EXPO attendees and become he event’s icon. The character, which appears to be sexless and possibly prefers the pronoun “it,” has also spawned a myriad or merchandising opportunities and the character adorns everything from towels, key chains, cookies, pens and hats to umbrellas, shoes, watches and even underpants! (There is also a MYAKU-MYAKU tamagochi!)
“MYAKU-MYAKU” is a mysterious being born from the fusion of cells and water. The red parts symbolize life’s dividing, multiplying cells, while the blue represents pure, ever-changing water. Constantly shifting shape, MYAKU-MYAKU sometimes forgets its own original form, but for now it has taken on a human-like appearance. It thrives in sunlight, delights in rainy days, and eagerly absorbs rain into its body. Dreaming of being recognised by all before Expo 2025 in Osaka, MYAKU-MYAKU looks forward to meeting people from around the world.
MYAKU-MYAKU Bio:
Birthplace: A small spring somewhere in Kansai.
Personality: Friendly but goofy, often making silly mistakes.
Special Skills: Able to change its shape into various forms and finding rainbows after it rains.
Favourite Thing to Do: Interacting with all kinds of living beings and things
Over 150 countries and regions have displays at the EXPO (76% of countries in the world). These countries did not attend World EXPO in Osaka in 2025: Greece, Mexico, Estonia, Argentina, Niue, Russia, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran due to issues like financial instability or political tensions with Japan. while New Zealand did not have a pavilion due to a lack of government commitment.
Tonga was there. Fiji was there. Nauru—yes, Nauru—was there (Pop. 11,497). Even Papua New Guinea had a presence. But New Zealand? The land of the All Blacks, Middle-earth, kiwifruit, and pineapple lumps? AWOL. Nowhere. Zip. Nada. Not a bean. The Kiwi Pavilion was as extinct as the moa.
Is New Zealand really that broke? Could we not scrape together enough coins from back of the couch to put up at least a modest stall in the Commons Pavilion? Maybe a card table with some Whittaker’s samples, a bloke with a guitar strumming Crowded House, an All Black haka, and a looping video of Milford Sound?
Instead, New Zealanders abroad had to endure the humiliation of explaining that our country was too busy or too poor or too disorganised to show up at the biggest international showcase of the decade. What message does that send? Don’t come visit? Don’t invest? We’re closed until further notice?
Ironically, the only NZ representation I found was at Disneyland, in the “It’s a Small World After All” ride. There, a smiling Māori lady in a grass skirt and two kiwis standing under cabbage trees swaying back and forth. It wasn’t much, but hey—it was something. Compared to EXPO 2025, Disney is making us look good.
So here we are, watching the world march proudly onto the global stage while New Zealand lurks backstage, mumbling, “Yeah-Nah, mate, not today.” Meanwhile, Tuvalu’s out there punching well above its weight, proving that even the smallest voices can be heard—while ours is MIA.
If this is our international strategy, then perhaps New Zealand’s new motto should be:
“New Zealand: The World’s Best Kept Secret… ”
###################################################################################
Letter to N.Z. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon requesting an answer as to why New Zealand failed to show up at the most significant international promotional forum: World EXPO Osaka 2025:
September 19, 2025
The Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister of New Zealand
Parliament Buildings
Wellington, New Zealand
Cc: Hon Todd McClay, Minister of Trade
Cc: Hon Matt Doocey, Minister for Economic Development
Cc: Hon Louise Upton, Minister of Tourism
Cc: Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Cc: Hon Christopher Hipkins Leader of the Opposition
Subject: Absence of a New Zealand Presence at Expo 2025, Osaka
Dear Prime Minister,
As a proud New Zealand resident, deeply committed to my community and the future of our country. I recently travelled with my wife, who is Japanese, and our two New Zealand-born children to visit Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. While we were greatly impressed by the international displays of culture, innovation, trade, and tourism from around the world, we were disheartened to discover that New Zealand had no pavilion, exhibition, or visible presence at the event.
Expo 2025 is an extraordinary opportunity for nations to showcase their art, culture, traditions, food, technology, history, innovations, sport, and music on the world stage. With over 200,000 visitors per day between April and October, the Expo offers unparalleled exposure to prospective tourists, investors, and business collaborators. Countries both large and small—Tuvalu included—were represented with pride and impact. Australia’s pavilion, for example, was so popular that we were unable to gain entry due to long queues.
By contrast, New Zealand’s absence was conspicuous. It was, frankly, embarrassing not to find our country represented, and it left my family and I concerned about the message this sends internationally. What impression are we leaving with the millions of visitors attending this event? That New Zealand has nothing to offer? That we are closed for investment? That we do not wish to promote our culture, products, services, and innovations to the world?
Understandably, some countries—such as Russia—are absent for specific geopolitical reasons. However, New Zealand’s omission raises troubling questions. Was this a deliberate policy decision? If so, who made it, and on what grounds? Was the decision financial? If so, what does it signal about our priorities and ability to invest in opportunities for trade, tourism, and global collaboration?
New Zealand has so much to offer such as world-class art, culture, technology, food, and natural beauty. To miss the chance to share this with a global audience feels like a significant lost opportunity—not only for tourism and trade, but for the international reputation of our nation.
I respectfully request clarification on:
As proud NZ resident and patriot who loves this country and confidently represents it abroad, I believe the New Zealand absence in Osaka reflects poorly on the country, and I hope the Government will provide reassurance that this was not a missed opportunity without careful consideration and that due consideration is given to showcase Aotearoa in the next World EXPO in Belgrade in 2027.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. I look forward to your response.
Yours Sincerely,
Paul John Murray
(Contact Details Supplied)
Response from Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Trade and Investment and Foreign Affairs, The Hon Todd McClay
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About LivinginPeaceProject
Paul Murray is the founder of the LivinginPeace Project. www.livinginpeace.com Paul originally from Australia, but have been living in New Zealand for 14 years. Before that he was in Japan for a decade working as a journalist. He met his wife Sanae in Japan and they married in 2008.