Nippon Life "Mirai ni Nokoshitai Shokubutsuen" (Garden of Plants for the Future)

“Mirai ni Nokoshitai Shokubutsuen” (roughly, “a botanical garden of plants we want to leave for the future”) is a hands-on exhibit by Nippon Life Insurance Company in the outdoor area of the organizer’s Theme Pavilion “NEKKO.” It is one of the Expo Association’s sponsor partner contents, and the association invites visitors to take an interest in environmental issues by seeing endangered plants as they really are. Nippon Life’s overall concept for its contributions is “Mirai Hiroba – a place where the planet’s future unfolds,” and it also provides ZONE 3, “Forest of Awareness,” inside the pavilion.

Highlights and exhibits

• Find and learn: The garden introduces a variety of plants, including those facing extinction. Each plant has its own display with a 2D code; scanning it with a smartphone or similar device delivers information on the plant’s situation and a message (Nippon Life and the association, September 15, 2026).
• Collect them in a field guide: The plants you find are saved in a field guide, combining the fun of a stamp rally with learning about the environment. The aim is to encourage visitors to keep thinking about environmental issues and to act.
• Plant list not yet announced: Which plants, how many, and the exact form of the displays have not been announced (as of October 2026).

Inside the pavilion, ZONE 3 “Forest of Awareness,” also provided by Nippon Life, is a hands-on exhibit in three areas focusing on familiar plants in Japan that face threats such as extinction. For example, ginkgo trees are common in cities, but almost all are cultivated; wild ginkgo is considered endangered. Such little-known facts will be conveyed through devices such as ancient-looking leaves mixed into fallen leaves and explanations hidden under leaves.

About the exhibitor

Nippon Life is a Platinum Partner (project sponsorship of ¥500 million or more) of the Theme Pavilion project. The group’s sustainability management focuses on people, communities, and the global environment, and it calls passing on the global environment that supports healthy lives to the next generation “one of the important missions of a life insurance company” (September 15 release). The exhibits will show how changes around plants affect people’s lives and how human activities affect the planet. The financial newspaper Nikkin reported on March 19, 2026, that the company would set up a dedicated International Horticultural Expo Promotion Office on March 25.

Timeline

• Mar 19, 2026: Nippon Life announced its sponsorship as a Platinum Partner and its plan to provide content for the Theme Pavilion and the outdoor area outside it; the association introduced it as a new major sponsor the same day (Nippon Life / association)
• Sep 15, 2026: Details of ZONE 3 “Forest of Awareness” and the outdoor “Mirai ni Nokoshitai Shokubutsuen” announced for the first time, together with the Theme Pavilion’s six-zone layout (Nippon Life / association)

Social media

There is little discussion of it yet (as of October 2026).

Before you go

• Location: The outdoor area of the Theme Pavilion “NEKKO.” Nippon Life’s September 15 release notes that the exhibit will spread across the green area in the lower part of the pavilion rendering it published.
• What to bring: The exhibit uses 2D codes scanned with a smartphone or similar device. Whether a dedicated app is needed or devices can be borrowed has not been announced (as of October 2026).
• Reservations: Not announced for the outdoor exhibit; how to enter the Theme Pavilion (including ZONE 3) has also not been announced (as of October 2026).
• About the Theme Pavilion: “NEKKO” is the organizer’s own exhibition, with architectural design supervised by Kengo Kuma and exhibits directed by Ou Sugiyama (Nippon Life, September 15).

Sources

• Expo Association: sponsor partner contents (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Nippon Life news release, Sep 15, 2026: content for the Theme Pavilion “NEKKO” (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Nippon Life news release, Mar 19, 2026: sponsorship of GREEN×EXPO 2027 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association, Sep 15, 2026: Theme Pavilion zones and Nippon Life’s sponsorship (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association, Mar 19, 2026: one year to go (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Expo Association: sponsorship (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)
• Nikkin, Mar 19, 2026 (Japanese) (checked 2026-10-04)

Note: exhibits and highlights will be updated as official announcements are made.