Exhibiting Virtual Mirai City at the Osaka-Kansai Expo

KDDI Corporation

March 10, 2025―On April 13, 2025, KDDI will release Virtual Mirai City, a service that integrates "The Future Life Expo: Future City" (hereinafter, the "Future City"), one of the Future Society Showcase Projects of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, with KDDI's metaverse/Web3 service platform "αU."

Virtual Mirai City is a virtual space themed around the concept of "Thinking about the future that we hope to live in." Based on the theme of the Future City, "To the city of happiness," KDDI and nine other sponsors of the Future City have created a human-centered urban space as envisioned by Society 5.0. Users can enjoy a unique virtual experience through avatars, exploring a future in which humanity has overcome social issues while trying out technologies that will enable such a future.

We aim to provide users with the opportunity to think about the ideal future by exploring Virtual Mirai City.

■Overview of Virtual Mirai City

1. Content unique to the virtual exhibit: Urban Space

(1) Spatial design

• Designed under the supervision of imaginary map creator Mr. Takayuki Imaizumi, the Urban Space is set in the near future, specifically the 2030s. It consists of an urban area and a regional city area.
• Each sponsor takes a different approach to solving the problems that arise in the Urban Space, and their respective future technologies and solutions are integrated into this virtual environment.
• Based on the idea that a city should be created by companies and city residents, the Urban Space incorporates diverse values through symbolic structures as envisioned by Mr. Ryuhei Komura.

(2) Companies participating in Virtual Mirai City

The following companies, which serve as sponsors of the Future City, are participating in Virtual Mirai City:

• Hitachi, Ltd. (hereinafter, "Hitachi")
• KDDI Corporation
• Kubota Corporation
• Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Kansai Transmission and Distribution, Inc.
• Kobe Steel, Ltd.
• IHI Corporation
• Asunaro Aoki Construction Co., Ltd./Komatsu Ltd.
• Kanadevia Corporation
• Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.

(3) Hands-on experience details

• Users will stroll through the Urban Space, conducting "Mirai Research" to gather insights for the future.
• Your Research Notebook will be updated each time you experience a technology or solution developed by a participating company to address social issues, such as environmental problems, population decline, or labor shortages.

• Once your Research Notebook is complete, you will earn a specially-designed NFT via the Osaka-Kansai Expo's EXPO2025 DIGITAL WALLET. For more on the wallet service, please visit the following website.

  • EXPO2025 DIGITAL WALLET

<Virtual Mirai City demo video>

2. Virtual Mirai Theater in the Osaka-Kansai Expo's Future City pavilion

• As part of the Virtual Mirai City program, we will offer Virtual Mirai Theater―a service that enables visitors to enjoy Hitachi and KDDI's joint exhibit, Mirai Theater, in a virtual space.
• With this app, you can experience Mirai Theater's concept of "we can change the future" even from outside the Expo venue.

For more on Hitachi and KDDI's joint exhibit in the Future City pavilion, please visit the following website.

• Hitachi and KDDI Unveils "Mirai Meeting"―a Joint Exhibition at Expo 2025 Osaka

3. Accessing Virtual Mirai City

Virtual Mirai City is made available on KDDI's metaverse/Web3 service platform "αU."
The service can be used free of charge (some content is subject to a fee). For more on "αU," please visit the following website.

• KDDI's metaverse/Web3 service platform "αU" (in Japanese only)

4. Release date

April 13, 2025 (planned)