Press Release: Expo 2025 opened in Osaka, Japan this spring and has received worldwide attention. The vast 155-hectare venue is located on the artificial island of Yumeshima, which is surrounded by Osaka Bay. A two-kilometer-long Grand Ring circles around the space, symbolically connecting the sea and sky. Over the approximately six months that the Expo is open, about 28 million people are expected to visit. Under the theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” Expo 2025 is a place where the world’s knowledge such as cutting-edge technology is being brought together, used to create new ideas, and shared, all to help resolve global issues facing humankind.
Biometric authentication systems, entertainment solutions, and other advanced technology solutions from Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Connect) are being utilized through the entire life cycle of this event and venue, starting from the site’s construction, for venue operations during the Expo, and for the area’s infrastructure and facilities after the event.
In the development and construction of the venue for Expo 2025, facial authentication technology was used around three million times*1 for access control for the people involved in creating the venue. During the Expo, facial authentication technology has been used for entry control for about 100,000 Expo personnel.*2 Beyond supporting the safe and efficient operations of Expo 2025, this technology will continue to help make the world safer and more secure.
*1 The figures are based on data collected between May 2023 and February 2025.
*2 Use of this facial authentication system is limited to those specified by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition.
Industry Leading*3 Facial Authentication System Secures Expo Gates
Panasonic Connect has long been supporting social infrastructure, government agencies, and large-scale international events with innovative technologies and solutions.
Image processing technology, which was originally developed for digital cameras, has played a central role in creating the world’s highest standard*3 for facial authentication technology. This technology has been implemented in a variety of smart biometric authentication solutions globally, including use in airports, ticketless admission to amusement parks, cashless payment systems in stores, and IC cardless entry/exit systems for office buildings.
*3 On November 6, 2022, it was published that Panasonic Connect ranked number one in the NIST FRVT 1:1 Report using “Mugshot” front facial data, including racial and aging demographics, with a False Acceptance Rate (FAR) of 1/100,000. Also, on March 26, 2024, Panasonic Connect ranked number one in the NIST FRVT 1:N in two categories using “Mugshot” front facial data including aging, 1.6 million registered users, and “Border” with face data from various angles of the face and deterioration in image quality.
Expo 2025 has become a great example of using these technologies. As a large-scale event bringing together diverse cultures, technologies, and industries from around the world, advanced security measures and strict identity verification were essential.
To prepare for the event, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition was established in January 2019. That’s when Panasonic Connect began exploring ideas to provide a wide range of services, including facial authentication technology, to contribute to the smooth and safe operation of Expo 2025.
From the outset, aiming to extend and advance its technology beyond Expo 2025 for services at various locations and events in the future, Panasonic Connect created a consortium with Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP). In 2023, the consortium was chosen to develop and implement secure systems to manage access to the site. The systems utilize a combination of facial authentication technology and AD passes to identify personnel and verify credentials.
Panasonic Connect appointed Kim Younghoon, a systems engineer with experience in proposing, constructing, and maintaining systems for transportation and energy industries, as the manager in charge of creating entrance control systems for the Expo 2025 project.
“Entrance gates would be used by personnel from many countries and regions around the world, so accurate verification of identity was critical,” Kim reflects on his initial thinking on the project. “As time was limited, we began preparation with a sense of urgency.”
In fact, Panasonic Connect’s facial authentication technology, built upon more than 40 years of development of image processing technology by Panasonic, boasts an unparalleled level of accuracy in the industry. This technology is especially well suited for events that need to process large numbers of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
In 2023, Panasonic Connect, Panasonic R&D Center Singapore, and NTU Singapore jointly developed new facial recognition technology. For the first time, the “partition-based invariant learning” method in deep learning was introduced for advancing facial recognition capabilities.*4 This enhanced the performance of facial recognition technology in identifying individuals across a broader range of skin tones and gender expressions, helping to overcome prior limitations in conventional systems. The team presented a research paper on this method at the International Conference on Computer Vision 2023,*5 a top conference in the field of image recognition.*6
*4 As at 10 October 2023 (according to our own research).
*5 A research conference sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society and CVF (Computer Vision Foundation), held every other year. It is considered one of the top computer vision conferences, along with CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference) and ECCV (European Conference on Computer Vision).
*6 Image recognition is the software technology for identifying objects, places, people, or etc. in digital images.
Making Entry/Exit Efficient for the Construction of Expo 2025
Panasonic Connect provided the facial authentication entrance system (using facial authentication cloud services) to Obayashi Corporation, the general contractor for construction of the Expo 2025 venue, over the two years of construction. The system was used to control entry/exit for a cumulative total of approximately 120,000 construction-related personnel*7 at the vast 155-hectare site, performing approximately three million facial authentications. This resulted in significant labor cost savings for entrance control, requiring just 15–20% of the personnel initially projected for conventional operations.
*7 The figures are based on data collected between May 2023 and February 2025.
One major advantage of the system is its capability to authenticate people even when they are wearing masks or helmets. This ensures security and efficient management of workers while facilitating smooth entry/exit control without creating congestion at gates.
A post-event survey showed that construction workers rated the facial authentication system with an average of 4.7 for speed and 4.9 for accuracy (on a five-point scale).*8
*8 The average score obtained from a 5-point scale survey asking whether respondents would like to use the system again. 83 respondents.
“It was great to receive such positive feedback running up to the event,” recalls Kim. “However, there was no time to relax as we had a tight deadline to install the admission system for even more people from various countries and regions during Expo 2025. We needed to act quickly.”
Facial Authentication Entrance System Is Successfully Handling Up to 140,000 Expo Personnel
Working with DNP, Panasonic Connect’s project team led by Kim delivered the facial authentication entrance system and AD passes to manage entrance of personnel at Expo 2025. The systems began operation in early April 2025.
Combining the use of facial authentication and AD pass/QR authentication,*9 the entrance system can handle up to 140,000 Expo 2025 personnel through 30 gates.*10 Additionally, the team created the AD pass registration system to be integrated with the admission system, and this contributed to the smooth issuance of passes.
*9 QR authentication is a method of authentication using QR codes. QR codes are a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.
*10 10 gates for staff (6 east gates, 4 west gates), 20 gates for staff and general visitors.
During the compressed timeline for development, the team focused on the smooth flow of the system—from issuing AD passes to entrance control for large-scale events—taking all kinds of operational scenarios into consideration. The team worked in close coordination with all the relevant departments of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition to finalize specifications and to meet tight deadlines.
“The ability to flexibly combine multiple technologies, optimize these complex systems as a whole, and meet a wide range of requirements—these are major strengths of Panasonic,” said Kim.
The installation site is outdoors. It has a roof, but it has no walls. “Prior to delivery, we repeatedly conducted operational simulations by bringing equipment to the actual gates,” explains Kim. “That revealed issues that had not come up in our in-house testing. For example, strong sunlight from the west at certain times of day affected facial authentication. We worked diligently to make adjustments. Thanks to the hard work and cooperation from the entire team, we completed the installation in time.”
With these entrance systems, people can pass through by simply pausing for a moment without bringing their faces close to the authentication cameras. The entrance system received great reviews from Expo-related personnel for its speed and accuracy.
“I was very pleased to see how smoothly so many people were entering through the gates on the first day,” said Kim. “We are so pleased to have been selected to work on Expo 2025, which attracts worldwide attention, and that has motivated us significantly.”
Biometric Authentication Will Make the Future More Secure and Convenient
“Facial authentication technology may still be new, and it may take some time for people to get used to it.” says Kim. “However, the psychological barrier has likely been lowered among people who actually used the system at Expo 2025. I believe that as biometric authentication is introduced to various facilities—stadiums, halls, and other venues around the world—its superior reliability and convenience will be recognized by more people, and usage will gradually spread throughout society.”
Kim is eager to share the extensive knowledge gained through the Expo 2025 project with future generations and to collaborate with diverse partner companies. “We strive to provide convenient high-security services using biometric authentication technologies, such as facial authentication, not only for international events like this one but also to serve needs across various industries. We believe this will contribute to the realization of a better and more hopeful future society.” That’s Kim’s vision for the future.
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