OSAKA - An 85-year-old couple have donated a combined 400 million yen to Osaka City with a request that the money be used to create a giant Myaku-Myaku statue about 20 meters tall at the former site of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, envisioning a landmark that could become a lasting symbol of the event and of renewed prosperity for Kansai and Japan.
Business executive Keihachi Fukunishi and his wife donated 200 million yen each on August 24 and received certificates of appreciation from Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama.
The couple want the donation used for a permanent physical legacy in a planned commemorative park zone at the Yumeshima expo site, where part of the Grand Ring is also scheduled to be preserved.
More than 25 million people visited the Osaka-Kansai Expo during its six-month run.
Fukunishi said he hopes Myaku-Myaku, the expo's official character, can play a role similar to the Tower of the Sun, the enduring symbol of the 1970 Osaka Expo in Suita.
"For the Senri Expo, it was the Tower of the Sun. For the Osaka-Kansai Expo, it should be Myaku-Myaku," he said.
The commemorative park zone is planned as part of the redevelopment of the Yumeshima site and will cover about 2.9 hectares, roughly equivalent to four soccer fields.
Plans call for preserving about 200 meters of the Grand Ring and creating a green public space that carries forward memories of the expo while supporting exchanges in technology, business and culture, as well as regional revitalization and industrial development.
Details of other permanent monuments in the park have not yet been decided.
Fukunishi said he was pleased after Yokoyama indicated that the city intended to move forward in the direction requested by the couple.
He specifically wants a standing Myaku-Myaku statue rather than a seated version, saying it should be visible from a distance and become a clear symbol of the former expo grounds.
Fukunishi, who experienced the 1970 Osaka Expo and attended the Osaka-Kansai Expo more than 10 times, said his memories of the Tower of the Sun strongly influenced the donation.
He recalled a period when the Tower of the Sun could be seen from Osaka University and said he hopes future visitors arriving at Yumeshima Station will similarly be able to see Myaku-Myaku standing in the distance.
Fukunishi said a monument about 20 meters high, roughly comparable to the height of the Grand Ring, would be a realistic size.
He acknowledged that an extremely tall structure would be difficult because a permanent monument would need to withstand typhoons and earthquakes, requiring an appropriate structural framework rather than simply enlarging the type of fiber-reinforced plastic figure currently used for Myaku-Myaku displays.
The couple's donation alone may not cover every element of the monument and surrounding development. Fukunishi said he also hopes the business community will support related projects through crowdfunding.
He suggested creating a "Myaku-Myaku road" as part of the approach to the monument and called on Osaka's business organizations and residents to help make the broader vision possible.
Fukunishi said the project is intended to carry forward the expo's legacy rather than allow the event to end simply as a temporary celebration.
He contrasted the 1970 Expo, held during a period of rapid Japanese economic growth, with today's economic environment and said he hopes the new landmark can become a symbol of renewed prosperity for Osaka, Kansai and Japan.
Fukunishi and his wife are also approaching their 60th wedding anniversary this autumn.
He described the donation as a way for the couple to give something back to Osaka while they are both able to do so.
Source: MBS
