SoundUD "Omotenashi Guide" to Be Used at METI's Expo 2025 Theme Week Exhibition

Also used in the Air and Water Show, Mitsubishi Pavilion, and PASONA NATUREVERSE

Yamaha Corporation (Headquarters: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture; President and Representative Executive Officer: Atsushi Yamaura) will provide a new "Interpretation Character" function for the "Omotenashi Guide" service that utilizes "SoundUD", which Yamaha is developing to realize a society with universal sound design, for use at booths in the "Fukushima Reconstruction Exhibition"^*1 organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) at the 2025 World Expo ("Expo 2025") from May 20 to 24.

The function combines multilingual translation technology and animated characters to support multilingual communication between staff and visitors from around the world without the need for an internet connection. People who speak different languages can converse and communicate with each other smoothly, with the character projected on the screen acting as an interpreter. Characters can be displayed on various devices including signage, tablets, or PCs depending on the installation location, such as event venues, exhibition booths, commercial facilities, train stations, local government offices, or business offices. In addition to voice interpretation by characters, text can be displayed by itself without a character.

At the booth, the VOCALOID™ characters "ZOLA Project" and "galaco"^*2 will appear on screens as interpreters to support smooth multilingual communication by providing interpretation accompanied by expressive gestures. This will be the first time that this function is publicly displayed and used.

In addition, a multilingual simultaneous interpretation guide utilizing the Omotenashi Guide will also be used in METI's stage program at the exhibition. The content of the speakers' talks will be displayed in Japanese and English on screens within the venue to support international visitors and people with hearing loss.

Yamaha hopes to contribute to this initiative, which will deliver to the world the image of the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake that is recovering powerfully, through the provision of these systems and services that utilize SoundUD.

The Fukushima Reconstruction Exhibition will present the people and businesses that are working on the reconstruction of the Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture and other areas struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, by showing not only their work, but also the thoughts and feelings of the people behind it. Through the exhibition, we also aim to inspire Expo visitors to actually visit the disaster-stricken areas. The Omotenashi Guide has made it possible to communicate information more effectively both domestically and internationally, which is needed for such sensitive communication methods. Together with the many Fukushima Prefecture residents who will visit the exhibition, I hope the Omotenashi Guide is used to expand the circle of empathy both domestically and internationally.

I am confident that the exhibition at Expo 2025 will provide an opportunity for many visitors from Japan and abroad to learn about the present state of Fukushima, including the efforts of businesses and local governments in the Hamadori region and the attractiveness of the region. In doing so, we would like to accurately convey the attractiveness of Fukushima to international visitors and share it with the world, and I hope that as many visitors as possible will experience that attractiveness through the Omotenashi Guide and interpretation character technology.

The Omotenashi Guide developed by Yamaha is also being used within the Expo 2025 venue and its pavilions. The service automatically delivers translated text and audio guides that are synchronized with shows and events, and is available free of charge to international visitors and people with hearing loss, and is being well received. The main shows and pavilions where it is being used include the following.

Yamaha has been providing tools such as the Omotenashi Guide to facilities and transportation systems in Japan through its SoundUD business, which promotes the universal design of sound. In 2019, a system that utilized characters was provided for an international conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Yamaha is currently working on research related to content and multilingual translation as well as other related technological advances. As an example of this, a patent application has been filed concerning the generation of text strings for the appropriate placement of automatically translated text in comic book speech bubbles.

In addition, Yamaha has also promoted the "Global Communication Plan 2025" as a member of the Consortium for the Promotion of Advanced Multilingual Translation Technology that has been commissioned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications under the "Research and Development of Advanced Multilingual Translation Technology" it has been conducting since in 2020. The new Omotenashi Guide system is one of the results of this project, and will also be exhibited at the Future Life Village (Booth D6) at Expo 2025 from Tuesday, May 27 to Monday, June 2.

• *2 "ZOLA Project" and "galaco"
  The "ZOLA Project" is a three-member male unit consisting of KYO, YUU, and WIL, with actor Yu Miyazaki providing one of the voices, while "galaco" is based on the voice of actor/singer Ko Shibasaki.