April 11 (UPI) — Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masakpo visited Osaka for this weekend’s 2025 World Exposition opening.

They will attend the opening ceremony for the six-month event and will tour the artificial island of Yumeshima and its Grand Ring of wooden roofed pavilions — the world’s largest wooden structure.

The emperor and empress will also visit Expo facilities including the Japan Pavilion and Osaka healthcare Pavilion before heading back to Tokyo Friday evening.

They will also visit the International Red Cross and Red Crescent pavilions.

During the 2025 World Exposition opening ceremonies Saturday the Emperor will give a speech.

Crown Prince Akishino is honorary president of the Expo. He and Princess Kiko will attend the opening ceremony.

The Expo will last six months, from April 13-October 13. The theme is “Designing Future Society For Our Lives.”

It will feature exhibits and be a place, according to the Expo website, “where the world’s knowledge such as cutting-edge technology will be brought together, used to create new ideas, and shared, all to help resolve global issues facing humankind.”

It is intended to “address issues facing humankind on a global scale.”

On Monday the Emperor and Empress marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on Iwo Jima.

In that month-long February 1945 battle, 21,900 Japanese and 7,000 U.S. soldiers died.