Humankind's space flight has taught us that the Earth is the only blue planet in the universe. Sophisticated life science has made us recognize anew the deep mysteries of life.

The development of industrial civilization in the 20th century now reminds us of the greatness of living things in nature, symbolized by flowers and greenery. Greenery has the power to convert inorganic matter to organic matter and create life from scratch. Flowers are the elegant expression of such hidden power, an anthem to the celebration of life itself. It can be said that loving and respecting greenery and flowers are the instincts of humans who share life with nature, which form the simplest foundation of our yearning for mutual respect between people and world peace.

And now that world civilization is about to drastically change just before the start of the 21st century, horticulture, the technology that makes us feel closer to flowers and greenery, and life science, which is closely related to horticulture, have started to take on an epoch-making significance. In many countries of the world, urbanization is progressing on a historic scale. The sharp rise in the number of people living in densely populated areas throughout their lives is increasing the need to newly create hometowns filled with flowers and greenery for them in urban cities. We must establish a place and mechanism to allow those people in busy cities to love nature with a feeling of awe and worship life. The spread of horticulture that improves the living environment, the enhancement of public parks, and the development of facilities for learning about nature and praising its beauty must be considered part of the basic living requirements of humankind. As in other countries in the world, Japan has a tradition of growing flowers and greenery even in the corners of narrow alleys. It has also developed unique technologies to re-create nature in an urban environment, which should be utilized, particularly today at the dawn of the 21st century.

Today's world is moving toward a mass society, where many people equally seek to enjoy a high-quality life, and expect cultural facilities to be shared widely. In response to such changes in the times, we must actively incorporate into our parks flowers and greenery that can withstand the crowds. To that end, we should take on the challenge of creating a new type of open space by using the best of modern science and technology while respecting traditional knowledge of horticulture and garden creation. Meanwhile, modern people must not forget to interact with greenery with a purified mind even in a crowded street. They also must find a new way of enjoying gardens, aiming for modest interaction and creative solidarity between humans and nature.

Furthermore, the present day is an era of structural transformation in industrial society. Human life and the surrounding environment are respected more than ever, and society aims to enhance manufacturing using the power of nature. In order to bring further wealth to all humankind and improve their quality of life, we need to develop technology to produce abundant flowers and greenery, technology to bring industrial production and nature into harmony, and biotechnology that focuses on the mysteries of nature itself. The garden and greenery exposition today should also be a place to introduce such a shift in industrial thinking and to confirm that industry and life, or civilization and nature, are not antithetical, but inherently exist in harmony.

As one of the most industrialized countries in the world, Japan faces typical challenges common to modern human societies. Taking this exposition as a great opportunity, it plans to perform bold experiments based on its cultural tradition as well as the world heritage of gardens and horticultural knowledge, thereby helping to ensure peace and prosperity in the global society in the 21st century.