Less than 1,000 days remain until the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.
PR events are held in various places, and preparations for the actual event are progressing, such as deciding on the nickname of the Expo character.
Former NHK announcer Sakae Endo covered the 1970 Osaka World Exposition held in the same city, and also acted as the moderator for the telecast of the closing ceremony.
Sakae's granddaughter Kaho Endo, a cameraman for the NHK Kobe Broadcasting Station, spoke with her grandfather about the Expo at that time, the times, and her expectations for the next Expo.
Former NHK announcer in charge of the Osaka Expo program
My grandfather who lives in Kanagawa prefecture, a former NHK announcer, Sakae Endo, who is now 91 years old.
In 1970, his grandfather, who was 39 years old at the time, covered the Osaka Expo, which was held for the first time in Japan.
I was in charge of hosting the programs of the Expo, including the radio broadcast of the opening ceremony and the TV broadcast of the closing ceremony.
We witnessed Japan's first World Expo, which will go down in history, from beginning to end at the venue, and conveyed the state of affairs throughout the country through broadcasting.
“I want to show the world a fully grown-up Japan!”
Sakae Grandfather
: In 1970, it was a period of 'post-war, post-war,' and the 'post-war' had already come to an end. In
short, I think there was also the feeling that ``I want to show the world a fully grown-up Japan!''
Coverage started from the expo site on “sarachi”
My grandfather started covering the Expo in 1967, three years before it was held.
He was 36 years old.
As soon as he arrived at the NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station, he joined the news gathering team and began covering the preparations for the Expo.
“At the time I went there, the Expo site was completely covered with grass, and it was already spacious.
An era where overseas travel is rare Expo's are places for multicultural exchange
During the exhibition, my grandfather visited the venue more than 80 times, mainly covering the pavilions of each country.
At the World Expo, each participating country has its own national day.
It will be an opportunity for multicultural exchange, such as holding music and dance events from the country.
My grandfather was in charge of hosting a program called "Invitation to National Day" that introduced each country.
Interviewed people from various countries, such as pavilion managers from each country.
At that time, overseas travel was still rare, so for my grandfather and the people who visited the Expo, the Expo was a valuable opportunity to interact with people from overseas.
Grandfather's message that is relevant to the current world situation
Another program that my grandfather was in charge of was "Connecting with the Expo," which connects the venues of the Expo and various parts of Japan via live broadcast to deliver the excitement of the Osaka Expo.
In this program, I found a message that is relevant to the current world situation in the exchanges between the staff of the Soviet pavilion and my grandfather.
On this day, the lake in Hokkaido, where swans flying from Siberia rest their wings, was connected to the Expo venue in Osaka.
At the venue, the staff of the Soviet Pavilion appeared as guests.
Looking through the screen at the swans flying between Siberia and Japan, I was thinking about my hometown.
My grandfather ended the program with these words:
“Today, we are talking about swans. Swans are flying back and forth between Japan and Siberia. In the same way, we hope that warm exchanges will continue between humans. A
grandfather who himself experienced the war.
Twenty-five years after the end of World War II, I witnessed for the first time how people from all over the world interacted with each other.
I hope that such exchanges will continue beyond the Expo.
My grandfather thought that it would lead to peace.
Thoughts in the closing ceremony comments
My grandfather's last job in covering the World Expo was hosting the TV broadcast of the closing ceremony.
During the broadcast, instead of speaking according to a pre-determined script, he said that he thought about speaking on the spot while feeling the atmosphere of the venue.
At the end of the closing ceremony, during the exit parade in which the staff of each pavilion and each exhibition hall paraded around the square, my grandfather made the following comment.
Sakae Sofa
: “It was the same in Japan, but I was very impressed by the fact that the centerpiece of the venue was young people from around the world.
”
Seeing the young people parading around the square, my grandfather said that he realized that young people were the center of the Expo
.
The Expo is an event that symbolizes a new era that allows us to envision the future.
Seeing the young people interacting lively in the center of it, I finally got the word "postwar", and I put my thoughts that the times have changed.
Expectations for the Osaka-Kansai Expo
The Osaka-Kansai Expo will be held in 2025, 55 years after the previous Osaka Expo.
I asked my grandfather about his expectations for the next World Expo, which will be held more than half a century later.
"After all, isn't it best to have a world where young people can move around with enthusiasm? I think it's best to have an expo that is completely different from the past expos based on the ideas of young people. I would like to see an Expo that is different from the Expo that we experienced.”
At the last Expo in Osaka, his grandfather said, “There were young people at the core.”
It is said that the power of young people is what we expect from the next World Expo.
“Because we have experienced the war. I had no idea what would happen during or after the war. You know."
An international exposition that brings together countries and regions from all over the world.
When I heard about my grandfather, who experienced the war and later covered the Expo in Osaka, I felt that the world exposition should be held only when peace is realized.
(Kobe Broadcasting Station cameraman Kaho Endo)