Italy is taking part in GREEN×EXPO 2027. The organiser, the GREEN×EXPO Association, announced that it signed the official participation contract with Italy on Thursday 9 July 2026, at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo. Among the countries and international organisations listed as of 9 September 2026, Italy is one of those that has already reached this stage. GREEN×EXPO 2027, the International Horticultural Expo, will be held from 19 March to 26 September 2027 on part of the former Kamiseya Communication Facility in Seya and Asahi wards, Yokohama. Other participating countries are covered in our participating countries feature.
Basics
The following comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s basic data page on Italy, updated 3 March 2026.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Area | About 302,000 sq km (roughly four-fifths the size of Japan) |
| Population | About 58.97 million (2024, IMF) |
| Capital | Rome |
| Language | Italian (with German, French and other minority languages spoken regionally) |
| Religion | Christianity (Catholic), about 80% of the population; also Protestant Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism |
| System of government | Republic |
| Head of state | President Sergio Mattarella (took office February 2022, second term, seven-year term) |
| Government | The Meloni cabinet (formed 22 October 2022); Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni |
As for ties with Japan, 11,937 Japanese nationals were living in Italy (2024, Ministry of Foreign Affairs statistics) and 5,556 Italian nationals were living in Japan (end of 2024, Ministry of Justice statistics). President Mattarella visited Japan in March 2025 and held talks with then Prime Minister Ishiba. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also notes that 2026 marks the 160th anniversary of Japan-Italy diplomatic relations, and that Prime Minister Meloni visited Japan in January and held talks with Prime Minister Takaichi.
Official information on the exhibit
According to the GREEN×EXPO Association’s press release of 13 July 2026, the signing ceremony for the official participation contract took place on Thursday 9 July 2026 at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo. Three people attended: Jun Niimi, Japan’s Commissioner General of the Section for the 2027 International Horticultural Expo; Mario Andrea Vattani, Commissioner General of the exhibition area for Italy and Ambassador of Italy to Japan; and Masato Kawamura, Secretary General of the GREEN×EXPO Association.
Italy’s exhibit theme is “Italy, Designing the Harmony of Nature, Tradition and Innovation.” The Association’s announcement says that the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, drew large numbers of visitors and was a great success, with exhibits that conveyed the excellence of Italian culture, art and technology. In light of that, the Association says the Yokohama Italy Pavilion will incorporate some of the architectural and exhibit elements from the Osaka, Kansai pavilion. The stated aim is to show a strong commitment to the circular economy and sustainability by reusing valuable resources responsibly.
The announcement also says the exhibit will present Italy’s vision for a sustainable future, drawing on wisdom built up alongside nature and on innovative technology.
The building concept comes not from the Association but from a market-consultation notice, published on 19 August 2026 by Italy’s Trade Promotion Section (ITA, Tokyo Office), inviting construction contractors to submit expressions of interest. The attached concept report (Project Report) shows the standard “GX House” wrapped in an oval, timber “second skin,” a modern reinterpretation of haystacks, the traditional archetype of Italian rural architecture. The document calls this concept “Architecture of Wheat.” The façade is made of identical triangular structural modules, designed for easy assembly and disassembly. The rooftop garden is to reuse and renovate the one built for the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The specific exhibits and the opening timing had not been formally announced by the Association as of 19 October 2026.
A cultural primer
The cultural notes below come only from what we could confirm on the official pages of the Embassy of Italy in Japan and the Italian Government Tourist Board (ENIT).
ENIT’s official Japanese-language site names good food as one of the attractions of southern Italy, alongside Mediterranean scenery, and introduces Naples as home to “the restaurant where pizza Margherita originated.”
On gardens, the Embassy of Italy in Japan (Minato ward, Tokyo) has made an official announcement. The embassy grounds preserve a stroll garden fed by natural spring water, inherited from a feudal lord’s Edo-period residence. Since February 2022, at the initiative of the Ambassador of Italy to Japan, the embassy has been working with research teams from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Hosei University on a project to document the garden’s history and features and to protect its beauty and environmental sustainability. The embassy’s stated goal is to open the garden to the public eventually. This is separate from the Italy Pavilion’s exhibit at GREEN×EXPO 2027, but it is one garden that connects Japan and Italy.
Correction (19 September 2026): in “Official information on the exhibit” we had said the building design was unannounced; in fact the building concept had already been shown in a 19 August 2026 notice from Italy’s Trade Promotion Section.