March 10, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures. To celebrate the milestone, West Japan Railway Co. has decided to decorate some of its Shinkansen trains with characters from the popular manga series, One Piece. It will begin next spring with one decorated train running between Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations. Two more trains adorned with characters such as Luffy, Zoro and Nami will be added at a later date. As well as commemorating the train line’s 50th anniversary, the company wants “to build momentum” ahead of Expo 2025 in Osaka, said President Kazuaki Hasegawa.
Expo 2025
Expo 2025 will open on April 13, 2025, and run for 184 days. Osaka previously hosted the event in 1970 and 1990. The theme for next year’s expo is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” with sub-themes of “Saving Lives,” “Empowering Lives” and “Connecting Lives.” Bringing together more than 160 countries and international organizations on Yumeshima Island, it is expected to attract a projected 28 million visitors from around the world. A year ago, it was revealed that the construction cost of the venue would reach ¥235 billion, 90% higher than initially projected. This sparked public criticism.
About One Piece
Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since July 1997. The series centers around the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, who dreams of becoming the king of the pirates. He and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, set off to explore the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece.” By August 2022, it had over 516.6 million copies in circulation in 61 countries and regions worldwide. That made it the best-selling manga series in history. It was also the best-selling manga for 11 consecutive years from 2008 to 2018.
