2:00 P.M. EDT

MR. DENIG: Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. We are very pleased to have this special briefing this afternoon on the United States participation in the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan in the Year 2005. It is not every year that we participate, or even time we would participate in an Exposition, and so we are especially pleased to be able to have a briefing dealing with the fact the United States will be present in Japan for the next World Exposition.

We have three wonderful expert briefers here today to speak with us. First, to my immediate left, is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Travis Horel. Then, in the middle of the table here is Lisa Gable, who has been appointed as the United States Commissioner General of Section for the United States Exposition at the Aichi Expo, and she was appointed by President Bush to this position and will hold next year the personal rank of ambassador. Then, our third briefer today is Mr. Doug West. He is the Chief Executive Officer for the Organization that is developing and operating the official U.S. Pavilion at next year's World Expo.

Each one of our briefers will have a brief opening statement to make, and after that they will be very glad to take your questions.

Secretary Horel, if you'd like to start.

MS. HOREL: Thank you very much, and welcome. The Department of State is delighted to be participating in the Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, the first World Exposition in the 21st century.

We believe the United States relationship with our good friends, the Japanese, has never been stronger. Our engagement with the Expo 2005 in Aichi demonstrates the strength of our bilateral relationship and the importance we recognize for the entire East Asia region.

In order to participate, the Department of State has officially partnered with Aichi USA '05 to enable U.S. participation. We did so by signing a memorandum of agreement on July 29th.

President Bush has named Lisa Guillermin Gable Commissioner General on August 9th to be the official U.S. representative at the U.S. Pavilion at the Expo. She will assume the personal rank of ambassador beginning on March 25th, when the Expo officially opens.

Commissioner General Gable has had extensive experience with Japan, having lived in the region and worked for many years on East Asia regional issues. In addition, she has spent much of her career in public relations and marketing and, thus, we believe she is an absolutely perfect candidate to represent the United States as the Commissioner General for the U.S. Pavilion. We are absolutely delighted that she has been selected and that we have an opportunity to work with her and with our private partners, Aichi USA '05.

So, on that, I'd like to welcome her. Lisa, congratulations.

MS. GABLE: Thank you, Travis. I am so pleased to be here today with Travis Horel, our Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and Doug West, the Chief Executive Officer of Aichi USA 2005. But more importantly, I am excited about new role as Commissioner General of the United States at the Universal Expo in Japan.

I want to take a quick moment to thank the people who brought us to this point today. Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Harrison, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Travis Horel, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State, and the dynamic team that we have at Aichi USA 2005 under the leadership of Doug West.

Most importantly, we are pleased to be working with our strong ally, Japan, in this effort. Last October, President Bush made a personal commitment to Prime Minister Koizumi that the United States would be full participants at the Expo. Today, you have an opportunity to hear about the Pavilion and we believe it will be one of our best.

Our central Pavilion theme is, "The Franklin Spirit," in honor of Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday. As an ambassador, an innovator and an entrepreneur, Benjamin Franklin is a perfect example of the core values of hope, optimism, enterprise and freedom that we, as Americans, embrace and enjoy today.

Key events will officially launch our involvement, including the signing ceremony on September 7th, which will include myself, Dr. Toyoda, Ambassador Baker and Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Harrison. I will then travel to Nagoya for the official handover of the keys to the Pavilion on September 14th.

I would like to now introduce you to Doug West, who has over 22 years of experience working in Japan. Doug deserves credit for many of the exciting developments that you see around the room today.

Doug.

MR. WEST: Thank you very much. Well, I'm very pleased to be here as well and I thank you all for coming and showing your interest in what we believe will be a very exciting U.S. participation in the wonderful World Exposition in Aichi next year beginning on March 25th. We're working hard to really bring the spirit of America to Aichi next year. That is really the purpose and mission of the U.S. Pavilion is really to bring the spirit of America to Aichi. And as Commissioner Guillermin Gable said, it's a message of hope, optimism, enterprise and freedom. And those are our key words for our message.

She said the theme we called, "The Franklin Spirit," and we've chosen Benjamin Franklin because we think he is the perfect host for the U.S. Pavilion. He was a scientist and an adventurer, a humorist, a diplomat and one of our founding fathers.

And so, as Commissioner Guillermin Gable said, on the eve of his 300th birthday, Benjamin Franklin will serve as the host of the U.S. Pavilion and he will come back to -- he will return to really check on America's progress over the last couple of hundred years. And he will also bring with him a vision of the future, which is in harmony with nature.

Let me tell you a little bit about the U.S. Pavilion. There is information in your packet. You can see in your packet, and also on this board, an exterior rendering. And you can see a large façade that would be erected there that will be the dimension of about 40 meters by 13 meters, 132 feet by 44 feet. And an important part of that rendering, which of course is in the image of the American flag, is a video screen, which we will use to display, I think, beautiful scenes of American landscapes and American life.

Inside the Pavilion there are several main parts. And, again, those are described in the handout materials. The Pavilion itself, on the main floor, is about 1,600 square meters. That would be 17,000 square feet. There's a mezzanine level above this public area which we call the VIP Suite, an area of about 450 square meters, about 5,000 square feet.

The main floor area is arranged for our visitors in three main sections. After they come through the entrance, they will be welcomed into what we call our pre-show area. In the pre-show area they will be introduced to our host, Benjamin Franklin. They will be reminded of Benjamin Franklin and his importance in American history and there will be an explanation as to why Benjamin Franklin has been chosen as the host to bring the message of America to Aichi.

Then, in groups of about 250 visitors at a time, our visitors will be shown into the next section, which is the so-called main show area, where Benjamin Franklin will appear. Not actually, but he will seem to actually appear through a very, we think, exciting and informative presentation that will be a combination of a filmed presentation with some high technology and special effects, and we think a very exciting, interesting and educational theater presentation that lasts for about 9 minutes.

And then following that theater presentation, our visitors go on to enter the so-called post-show area. In the post-show area we will have what we think are a collection of important and interesting items that are very much in keeping with the message of the -- and information that was presented in the main show, but these are things that come from America and could only have come from America.

Several that I would highlight are, well, first, perhaps I think a very interesting collection of Indian moccasins that are representative of the many Indian tribes from throughout the United States. And we are working with the Smithsonian Institution to bring that exhibit of moccasins to our Pavilion because we think that they are very symbolic of the first steps of the American journey, and so we bring them with that symbolism in mind.

Another important feature of the post-show will be a replica of the 1902 Wright glider, one of the most important innovations that the Wright brothers were able to accomplish prior to their first manned -- powered manned flight.

Another item in the post-show area will be a prototype of the Mars Rover presented in what we think is an interesting display that will include video footage from the surface of Mars.

And, finally, I would mention the Cassini-Huygens Space Probe that is currently sending back wonderful, wonderful photographs from space that we will also be displaying in our Pavilion.

These are examples of the items that we think will be of interest to our visitors in the post-show area.

With that, our visitors will have experienced the Pavilion. We expect to have as many as 10,000 visitors a day, each and every day. You may know that the Expo will operate and be open to the public officially on March 25th of next year and will run 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for 185 days, until September 25th. And the U.S. Pavilion will be open for business every one of those hours and days and we're looking forward to as many as 1.5 million visitors to our Pavilion during the course of the Expo.

The other feature of the Pavilion I would mention is our so-called VIP Suite, which is on the mezzanine level that I mentioned. That will be an opportunity -- provide a place and an opportunity for our sponsors and the management of our Pavilion to provide hospitality and a place for meetings of many sorts with our sponsors and with their guests as part of the U.S. Pavilion experience.

So those are the highlights. I know we'd be interested and happy to answer any questions you might have.

MR. DENIG: Before you ask your questions, if you could identify yourself and your news organization, please. Who would like to start?

QUESTION: This is Uichiro Oshima with Chunichi Shimbun. Nice to meet you, Commissioner General.

Have you ever been to Aichi Prefecture or know the area? Could you give me some -- your impression about the Expo site or surrounding area?

MS. GABLE: I have never been to Aichi. I have spent time in Tokyo, in Tsukubo, and in an area around Yokosuka, and I am looking forward to seeing the site on September 14th, where I'll be going for the handover of our keys and that is the first trip that I will be making to Aichi.

QUESTION: Could you give me more specific message for visitors to the Expo, especially the neighborhood of the site?

MS. GABLE: Sure. Obviously, there will be 122 countries that are participants with us at the Expo, and we are looking forward to sharing the culture and the heritage of America with our neighbors. I believe the Canadians will be beside us, as well as other countries from Latin America.

We think we have a unique message with the concept of hope, optimism, freedom that Benjamin Franklin represents. We are very much looking forward to seeing the work and the displays that are put on by our neighbors so that we can do an exchange of ideas and come to understand their culture and their heritage and better understand the values that are important to them.

MR. DENIG: Any questions on the content of the American Exposition? Sir.

QUESTION: My name is Yoshiri from Japanese newspaper (inaudible) Shimbun. Good afternoon.

How do you revive the part of Benjamin Franklin using computer work?

MR. WEST: Oh, how will Benjamin Franklin appear?

QUESTION: Yes. (Laughter.)

MR. WEST: Oh, wow. It's a state secret. (Laughter.) No, it's not a secret. It will be amazing, though, we think. I would describe it as a high-technology theater experience. It's a combination of a filmed actor coupled with high-technology special effects to create both sight and sound to create what we think will be a very entertaining experience.

QUESTION: That someone plays -- actor someone plays --

MR. WEST: An actor will play Benjamin Franklin, and they will not appear live but they will appear through a film, but a very enhanced film that will be presented on a number of different screens in a very, what we would call, immersive environment. It will be -- I think people will feel very drawn into the presentation. It's not just looking at a picture. It's very much an experience. You must come and see it to believe it. (Laughter.)

Does that answer your question?

QUESTION: Yes.

QUESTION: How do you make his voice?

A PARTICIPANT: It will be a human voice and it will be in Japanese. (Laughter.) We thought it was important for Benjamin Franklin to learn to speak Japanese. (Laughter.) So he will speak Japanese.

Also, as you know, most of our visitors will be Japanese so it will be appropriate for him to speak Japanese. There will actually be a switch, however. He can also speak English. If the audience happens to be English speaking, we can change that. But for most shows, he will be speaking in Japanese.

MR. DENIG: Could you perhaps talk a little bit about who the various sponsors are of the U.S. Pavilion?

MR. WEST: We have upwards of 30 major sponsors at the U.S. Pavilion, including a broad range of U.S. companies. And I could highlight some of our major sponsors. We're very proud to have General Motors as one of our lead sponsors. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a major sponsor. Exxon-Mobil is one of our sponsors. Gulf Stream, Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railroad, American Airlines are some of the ones that come to mind that I would like to mention.

I think our sponsors have been encouraged to support the U.S. Pavilion because of the wonderful relationship between the United States and Japan and our interdependent economies and the exciting opportunity for these companies to come to know Japanese consumers and expose themselves to Japanese visitors to the U.S. Pavilion and to the Expo.

As you know, there will be 15 million visitors to the Expo next year and we expect as many as 1.5 to 2 million visitors to our U.S. Pavilion. So it's a wonderful opportunity to reach out to the Japanese people through the support of the Pavilion.

QUESTION: Hi, my name is Toshifumi Kawano with Mainichi Shimbun. So do you believe that Benjamin Franklin is a popular figure among the Japanese people?

MR. WEST: Well, we did some -- frankly, we did some research and we were very delighted to learn that I think it's fair to say that most Japanese people have some familiarity or awareness with Benjamin Franklin. They may not know everything, but they have a general awareness and they understand, I think, very broadly about his early experiments with electricity. And it was really those experiments with electricity that encouraged us to choose him as the host for the Pavilion because, in our mind, there is a very logical connection between Benjamin Franklin and the theme of the Expo. The Expo theme is, "Nature's Wisdom and the Wisdom of Nature."

And it was Benjamin Franklin who really helped to unlock much of the wisdom of nature, particularly as it related to electricity. It was Benjamin Franklin who gave the world the first theory of electricity, and a theory that remains the theory of electricity to this day. And so he really was, as an inventor and experimenter and scientist, in addition to all the other things that he was, he was a person who was very intrigued by the wisdom of nature and worked hard to understand it.

MR. DENIG: Mrs. Gable, will there be any cultural presentations, either before or during the Exposition, American culture presentations?

MS. GABLE: We have a robust cultural program that we're in the process of building. One of the key things that we're doing with this particular Expo is that we've asked each of the 50 states to participate. We're still working out the details of their participation, but we have asked them to identify areas of their culture and their heritage that are unique to them not only as Americans, but also as a state, so that the people of Japan and the other individuals that are visiting the Pavilion will learn about the 50 states and their unique relationship to one another.

MR. DENIG: Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.) I was wondering, is there any sort of friendly competition between different nations attending, or is it more of a partnership, all attending together?

MR. WEST: Oh, I think it's fair to say that it's a friendly competition.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) showing or --

A PARTICIPANT: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Do you know anything about the other countries' exhibitions, as far as their going to (inaudible) find out?

A PARTICIPANT: Well, I think a lot of countries are keeping it a little bit close to the vest. So I have to say, I don't know a lot in detail about what some of the other countries are doing. I know that there will be some marvelous pavilions there, and our goal is to be among the very best.

MR. DENIG: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Yes, Ken Karube from Jiji Press. My question is regarding your position that, I think you are a Bush appointee, so, for example, you are, so, I mean, if Senator Kerry wins presidency in upcoming elections, can you continue your job as ambassador?

MS. GABLE: As you know, the political process in America, we are very used to going through changes of administrations and elections in the middle of participation in a multitude of different events. I think you can feel confident that the United States has made a commitment to be a full participant in this particular exposition.

One unique thing about the funding model that we have designed is that the State Department obviously has an official role; however, we are privately funded and privately run within the Aichi USA 2005 operation, which provides continuity throughout the political process.

MR. DENIG: Do you have a question, sir? Are there any other questions?

Okay. Then, we want to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming, and I want to thank our three briefers for this interesting and exciting preview.

MR. WEST: Thank you.

MS. GABLE: Thanks.

MR. DENIG: And hope that we can all see each other in Aichi, Japan.
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