The Osaka Expo opened its doors Sunday to the first of what organizers hope will be 28.2 million visitors over the next six months.
A day after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed hopes that the expo can bring together a world that he called ¡°divided,¡± the general public got its first look at the massive Grand Ring, designed to symbolize unity, and the roughly 160 pavilions by participating nations, regions and organizations.
A marching band welcomed the first people through the gates alongside a group that included Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, the secretary-general of the Bureau International des Expositions, which organizes World Expos.
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