Main image of Osaka-Kansai Expo Technical Article: The Path to a "Once-in-a-Lifetime Project" and "Pride in Being Part of Murata" (Part 2).

Osaka-Kansai Expo

Osaka-Kansai Expo Technical Article: The Path to a "Once-in-a-Lifetime Project" and "Pride in Being Part of Murata" (Part 2).

INDEX

4. Creating a fondness for Murata and sparking co-creation

5. Giving children a chance to imagine what kind of future might come

6. A once-in-a-lifetime project for employees, and work that will be passed down

4. Creating a fondness for Murata and sparking co-creation

The echorb Wonder Stones embodied pride in manufacturing. Production was handled by Hakui Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Ando: "We chose to produce echorb at Hakui Murata Manufacturing with the hope of uplifting and encouraging Ishikawa Prefecture, which was affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. After the disaster, traditional crafts were also hit hard, so we created echorb versions featuring Kanazawa gold leaf and Wajima lacquerware, which were covered by various media outlets. We also invited local high school students to the Expo site, and I believe it became a great opportunity for people in the region to feel more connected to Murata."

Scenes from production at Hakui Murata Manufacturing
Scenes from production at Hakui Murata Manufacturing
Special versions of echorb featuring gold leaf and Wajima lacquerware were also created
Special versions of echorb featuring gold leaf and Wajima lacquerware were also created

Ando adds that another major outcome was the co-creation that emerged with business partners.

Ando: "Partners who experienced the 'Better Co-Being' Signature Pavilion really felt the future possibilities that Murata's technology can unlock. They offered various ideas about potential applications for the technology, naturally creating an atmosphere in which co-creation could emerge. It was also memorable that researchers from AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), who developed the 3D haptics (illusionary haptics) technology used in echorb, visited as well, and were pleased to see it as a major step toward real-world deployment."

It's sharpened our understanding of how the technology can be applied in fields like sports, rehabilitation, and entertainment, accelerating the push toward commercialization.

Ando: "Including potential integration into smartphones and wearable devices, the dreams and possibilities are expanding dramatically. Through this project, adding the perspective of customer experience value to our core manufacturing work broadened employees' horizons and sparked new ways of thinking. It connects directly to the new business creation and solution business initiatives we're now pursuing, and I believe we must turn it into tangible results in the future."

5. Giving children a chance to imagine what kind of future might come

The Osaka-Kansai expo brought pride to Murata employees, a sense of fondness for Murata among local communities, and a trigger for co-creation with business partners.
Giving visitors a sense of wonder was Ando's long-held goal. Before opening day, he said he dreamed of hearing cheers and gasps from visitors the moment they held echorb.

Ando: "That dream became reality. On the final day, some visitors told us they had come to the pavilion more than 20 times, saying, 'I was captivated by the Wonder Stone!' The pavilion attendants were thoughtful enough to announce, 'The development lead, Mr. Ando, is here!' When they introduced me, a huge crowd gathered all at once, and we took photos together. When I saw visitors crying, I started tearing up too. I also burst into tears the moment I saw the completed pavilion in all its beauty, and throughout the Expo it was honestly one moving moment after another."

Children guided by the Wonder Stone, exploring the pavilion with sparkling eyes—this scene represents what Ando continuously strived for, believing that "to achieve large-scale social development and innovation over 30, 50, or even 100 years, what we can leave in children's hearts is crucial."

Ando: "Murata promotes STEAM education initiatives to share the appeal of science and technology with the children who will carry the future, and to nurture people who will drive innovation someday. This pavilion connects directly to that. What matters is that children imagine what kind of future might come, and what kind of future they want. By creating those triggers, we want to help nurture innovators who will support Japan's electronics industry, which faces a shortage of STEM talent. And of course, it would be amazing if they joined Murata someday!"

Ando explains, "We're also developing content using echorb for school visits across Japan."
Ando explains, "We're also developing content using echorb for school visits across Japan."

6. A once-in-a-lifetime project for employees, and work that will be passed down

What can we leave in children's hearts?
Ando says a formative experience that shaped his belief was the 1970 Osaka Expo. At the time, 5-year-old Ando, living in Shikoku, saw the Tower of the Sun on TV and imagined, "If evil robots attack Osaka, the Tower of the Sun will blast them with lasers and defeat them!" He says he daydreamed about it and got wildly excited. As his fascination with science grew, Ando got into building things, and in his graduation book he wrote, "Someday, I'll become an inventor and amaze the world."

Ando: "The excitement and sense of wonder you feel in childhood stays with you, and it influences your future. I am living proof of that. Fifty-five years later, I'm participating as a project leader in the very Expo that thrilled me at the age of five. Nothing could be more profound than that. I can't count how many times I have cried tears of joy over these past six months. Before the Expo opened, I told all the employees, 'This will be a once-in-a-lifetime project. Let's make something that people will talk about for years to come.' And now, I feel that more strongly than anyone."

Having seen through a project that will likely be remembered in Murata's history, Ando says a certain thought keeps racing through his mind, filled with emotion.

Ando: "If I hadn't been in charge of the Expo, if the Wonder Stone idea had never emerged, what would I have been doing? What would have happened if this team hadn't come together? Those thoughts keep circling in my head. Not in a negative sense at all—it's actually fun to imagine what completely different ideas might have emerged. At the same time, I'm deeply grateful that we could approach the Expo with this team. We were truly fortunate to have this experience of employees uniting as one. There were countless hardships, but honestly, if there were another Expo in five years, I'd happily join again!"

Photo from left: Muraoka, Hayashida, Ando, Kanagawa
Photo from left: Muraoka, Hayashida, Ando, Kanagawa

©Expo 2025

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