(BSS/AFP) - Ukraine will join the 2025 World Expo in Japan in a message of peace despite the dire financial situation caused by its war with Russia, a senior local official said.

So far, 161 nations -- but not Russia -- have said they will take part in the six-month event in Osaka that starts April 13, with organisers hoping for more than 28 million visitors.

"Ukraine`s participation, even though it is facing an extremely tough
situation, is meaningful, as it conveys peace," Osaka governor Hirofumi
Yoshimura said Tuesday in Paris.

The Expo, traditionally held every five years in different locations, is
aimed at showing off participating nations` technological and cultural
achievements.

Osaka in western Japan has constructed a "Grand Ring" made of wood two
kilometres (1.2 miles) in circumference and 20 metres (65 feet) high to
enclose the fair.

Kyiv`s ambassador to Japan told local media that Ukraine was considering
using a shared building provided by Japan instead of constructing its own
pavilion.

The first "World`s Fair" to celebrate culture and industrial progress was
held in London in 1851, with the Eiffel Tower built for the 1889 event in
Paris. The pandemic-delayed 2020 Dubai fair was held in 2021-22.

Osaka last hosted the gathering in 1970 when it attracted 64 million people,
a record until overtaken by Shanghai in 2010.