OSAKA, Japan – Jamaica’s star quality is currently on display in Japan as the country’s booth continues to be a source of interest and excitement at the World Expo underway in Osaka.

Set up in the Expo’s Commons Bay, with over 26 other countries, Jamaica’s vibrant black, green and gold display, complete with recycled plastic statuettes of Bob Marley and Usain Bolt, plus a real Jamaican bobsled, has drawn a significant crowd.

“From April to July, the expo saw 11.4 million visitors, 2.2 million of them came to the Commons Bay area, and Jamaica alone had over 765,000 visitors. That is averaging 10,000 guests per day,” explained Commissioner General of the Jamaica Pavilion, Maureen Smith.

As commissioner general, Smith has temporarily relocated to Japan, acting as an operations manager for the booth, spearheading the design and activation of the setup for the entirety of the six-month showing.

And that setup has garnered quite a bit of interest.

Smith described the different aspects of the double booth that Jamaica currently has on display.

A World Expo attendee in a kigurumi style mask poses next to a sculpture of Reggae icon Bob Marley (Photo: Shanique Barnaby)

“Jamaica has set up two spaces, which most countries that are being assisted by the Japanese government do. So we have a main pavilion space, and we also have a commercial area. We opted not to sell anything, but instead we use it as a promotional area where we do some giveaways,” Smith explained.

Considering that Japanese visitors would make up the majority of visitors to the expo, Smith said team Jamaica collaborated with locals in planning the booths.

“Japan is a huge consumer of our culture… we did our research, asked the team that we were working with in setting up our space, what would the Japanese people want to see? And the response was, well, they love Bob Marley, they love Usain Bolt, and they love Kool Runnings, the movie,” Smith said.

With that in mind, Smith and her team collaborated with Jamaicans at home to bring the booth to life while adding elements of local music and displaying Jamaica’s work toward the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We know that Scheed Cole of 360 Recycling does these incredible statues from recycled material. So we thought it hits quite a few of the SDGs, creating jobs, the whole use of recycled material, we were going to reach out to him to do the statues of Bob Marley and Usain. However, the S-Hotel had already had them done,” Smith said.

“And so we reached out to Chris Issa, and he was so gracious. Without hesitation, he agreed to lend us these two statues for the space,” she continued. “And then we reached out to the Jamaica Bobsled Federation to see if we could borrow the Bobsled. And similarly, without hesitation, Chris Stokes, he said, for sure, anything for Jamaica.”

A sculpture made from recycled materials, portraying Usain Bolt, was shipped from Jamaica to Japan for the World Expo.

READ: Sculptures of Jamaican icons off to World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan

The booth also features a massive mural at the entrance, which Smith says is a unique feature compared to other countries housed in the Common Bay and has helped draw in visitors.

Also on display are hand-woven pieces created by Jamaicans with disabilities under the ‘See Mi Yah!” project; traditional Jamaican food including canned ackee, hot sauce and jerk seasoning, jerk pans, soundclash corner and more.

“So originally when we were considering participating in this expo, we were saying, okay, let us try and get at least 1 per cent of the 28 million visitors that the expo projected, and we have been getting upwards of 10 per cent. So that to me is incredible, and it shows the interest in Jamaica,” she said.

Smith added: “On July 12th, I believe it was a special day because they were doing some air shows. Jamaica got a whopping 19,451 guests to our pavilion, which was more than 72 per cent of the people that came into that Commons Bay space and 11 per cent of the expo attendees overall.”

Smith said the interest in Jamaica’s booth has also caught the eye of tourism partners locally.

“I believe that the Jamaica Tourist Board for sure are looking at opportunities, when we shared the numbers that we’ve been getting every day,” she said, adding “[We are] averaging 10,000 guests per day, that is incredible.”

Similarly, Jamaican resorts are already buying into the potential market.

A common thread between couples visiting the booth, Smith explained, was that dozens of them had honeymooned in Jamaica, especially at Half Moon Resort. This prompted the commissioner general to reach out to the hotel.

“We reached out to Half Moon to see if we could get a return trip, and they graciously provided a seven-day, six-night stay. And we’re gonna do some promotions around that to give a lucky couple hotel accommodation. I believe there are some opportunities that we can leverage to get more visitors from here,” she stressed.

It’s not just tourism; cultural crossover between the nations has been on display throughout the expo as well, as the creators of the Jamaican anime series “Jamaica No Ja Makai” (Jamaica no Duppy) presented to Japanese locals for three days with support from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

Anime and manga are traditional Japanese forms of animation and books, respectively, that are becoming more mainstream in Western media.

“They were here for three days, I believe. And the three days, the seats were filled with even people standing, you know? So I know there is an interest in seeing this. And I think the Japanese are appreciative of how much their culture has also influenced us because we often talk about how we have influenced them,” Smith said.

She maintained that part of the theme for the expo that Jamaica is presenting under is called Connecting Lives and cited the anime and the manga as a unique and interesting way of showing that connection.

Highlighting Japan’s longstanding support of Jamaica, Smith said Jamaica’s participation in the Expo was, in part, reflective of that relationship.

“We wanted to make sure that the Japanese people know that we are supporting them because they’re hosting,” she explained.

Japan has hosted the World Expo three times across 54 years. Having started on April 13, this year’s expo will run until October 13.