The following article is Author Murata

The 2025 Osaka-Kansai World Expo marks Osaka's hosting of this grand event after a 55-year interval. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has provided the wondrous stone "echorb" for the expo's film pavilion "Better Co-Being." So, why is Murata sponsoring the Expo? This article, centered around an interview with Murata's Expo Promotion Office, introduces Murata's perspective on this Expo and the initiatives implemented by the Hakui Murata Manufacturing Plant (Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture), which produces the echorb.

The Osaka-Kansai World Expo Depicting Future Society

How do the Osaka-Kansai World Expo, which envisions a future society, and Murata's Vision 2030 align?

Takashi Hayashida, General Manager of Murata's Expo Promotion Office, responsible for Expo-related matters, believes:
We hope that by participating in the Osaka-Kansai World Expo, we can encourage both our employees and visitors to contemplate the shape of future society and ignite within them the passion of "I want to change the future like this!"
Regarding the reason for being a Gold Partner sponsor of the film pavilion "Better Co-Being" at the Osaka-Kansai World Expo and providing the wondrous stone "echorb," Takashi Hayashida states:
Merely participating through financial contributions is not very interesting. Our aim is to use the Expo as a "testing ground for future society" by actively engaging in the overall concept of the pavilion through Murata's involvement, to showcase the future we aspire to achieve.
The "Film Pavilion" sponsored by Murata is located at the heart of the Osaka-Kansai Expo venue and is a pavilion guided by eight producers. The "Better Co-Being" pavilion sponsored by Murata was created by data scientist and Keio University School of Medicine Professor Hiroaki Miyata. This film pavilion, themed "Resonating Life," is based on the idea that "by making visitors' data resonate with each other, we aim to create a future society where everyone can shine." This concept highly aligns with Murata's long-term Vision 2030.

Murata's Long-Term Vision 2030
In Vision 2030, under the theme of "Murata Pioneering the Future," we aim to accelerate the realization of a more unconstrained and comfortable future through Murata's innovation. This direction of Murata's efforts "resonated" with the theme of the pavilion created by Professor Hiroaki Miyata, prompting our decision to advance our initiatives towards the Expo.

The Concept of the "Wondrous Stone"

Deciding on the pavilion's experiential content involved many challenges. Murata ultimately decided to propose the "wondrous stone" concept related to the company's founder.
As early as May 2022, Murata officially approved participation in the Expo. Since then, numerous meetings were held to discuss what internal technologies the company possessed and how they could be applied to the pavilion. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, meetings were primarily held online. Mr. Hayashida recalls that for about a year, "nothing was decided."
Under these circumstances, starting in April 2023, the company changed the meeting format, deciding to "hold face-to-face meetings once a month for discussion." As a result, the proposal that emerged was to use "3D Haptic Technology," which creates a pulling sensation through vibration, to guide visitors within the pavilion.
What about calling this guiding device a 'wondrous stone'?
No one objected to the suggestion from Masamichi Ando, Director of the Business Incubation Center and Executive Officer. Another reason no one objected was that the name "wondrous stone" is very familiar within the company.
Murata's original business, "capacitors," uses a raw material called "ceramics." The company founder, Akira Murata, referred to ceramics, which can be endowed with various properties like dielectric, magnetic, and piezoelectric characteristics, as a "wondrous stone." This is where the name originates.
Company founder Akira Murata

He affectionately called ceramics the "wondrous stone"
During discussions for this Expo, many proposals were made enthusiastically to create a "wondrous stone" that utilized not only 3D haptic technology but also various other Murata technologies. "At the 1970 Expo, a moon rock captivated many. We hope this 'wondrous stone' will become a hot topic in 2025," said Mr. Hayashida. Thus, discussions about which technologies to integrate accelerated.

Showcasing Murata's Comprehensive Capabilities

Sponsoring this Expo demonstrates Murata's comprehensive strength through cross-departmental collaboration and its vertically integrated business model.
The group members involved in sharing Expo-related initiatives quickly exceeded 200 people. Which technologies could be used?
There were many instances where people exchanged information, learning that "that department is working on this." Upon gaining information, collaboration requests began to emerge. Mr. Hayashida recalls:
Despite everyone being busy, each department responded positively. This made me feel once again the advantage of Murata's cross-departmental collaboration.
Takashi Hayashida, General Manager of the Expo Promotion Office, stated:
I once again felt the advantage of Murata's cross-departmental collaboration.
He mentioned that the business related to producing the wondrous stone also made him feel Murata's comprehensive capabilities.
Since the product was not a pre-made item, success required multiple departments to collaborate closely across various aspects, from material procurement to design and production line setup. This can be said to successfully leverage Murata's robust strength in "vertically integrated manufacturing."
Over the years, Murata has established a complete system where all necessary functions, from material development to the production equipment needed for final product manufacturing, are handled independently by Murata. Mr. Hayashida states:
It is precisely thanks to these manufacturing strengths that we were able to produce such a high-quality product in such a short time.

How to Create a Better Product?

The Hakui Murata Manufacturing Plant (Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture), which produces the wondrous stone "echorb," also demonstrated this all-hands-on-deck manufacturing advantage and gained new ideas through the Expo.
How can we create a better product? We had candid conversations with developers, and together we made a great product.
Takayuki Yamada, the production line leader for the wondrous stone at the Hakui Murata Manufacturing Plant, said, "I'm glad they actively incorporated ideas from the production site."
The Hakui Murata Manufacturing Plant was hit by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024, suffering damage such as equipment toppling and work-in-progress items falling. Regarding the decision to produce echorb despite this situation, Shigetoshi Yamamoto, also from the Hakui plant and responsible for producing the wondrous stone, said:
The Expo opening date was fixed. We were determined; it would definitely proceed as planned.
Even after the earthquake disaster, they collaborated with on-site members, created specialized jigs, introduced robots in some processes, and ensured the necessary production quantity.

Scene at the Hakui Murata Manufacturing Plant
In February 2025, they unveiled a special echorb to the media, adorned with Ishikawa Prefecture's traditional craft of gold leaf and using Wajima lacquerware techniques. They have continued to use this product as a symbol of post-earthquake recovery.

Shipping Ceremony for the Wondrous Stone "echorb"

Special Edition echorb: They also created a special edition echorb, decorated with gold leaf and Wajima lacquerware techniques.
Mr. Yamada visited the Osaka-Kansai World Expo this April. At the Expo, he held an echorb in his hand. For Murata Manufacturing, which typically produces very small electronic components, this provided a rare opportunity to create a large-sized product that can actually be held. By holding the echorb at the Expo site, "I truly felt that we had accomplished something remarkable. It gave me confidence in what we do and made me more positive," he said.

Expo Initiatives Inspire New Ideas
(Left: Mr. Yamada, Right: Mr. Yamamoto)
Murata is sponsoring the Expo, but the Expo is not the goal. Our goals are realizing our vision and applying this to business.
Regarding these circumstances, Mr. Hayashida emphasizes: "It's important to recognize that the Expo is not the objective." The important themes moving forward are realizing the vision of a future society and helping the company create new business models.

Tetsuya Kanagawa, also part of the Expo Promotion Office, mentioned that the surprised expressions on visitors' faces as they held the echorb in the pavilion left a deep impression on him. "If visitors can develop hopeful thoughts about the future, such as 'maybe such things are possible,' then nothing could be more gratifying. Moving forward, Murata will take the experience from this Expo as a new step and continue to take on challenges to realize a future society filled with 'Well-being'."

Murata China

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