National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Opening Day

What Is This Day?

Every July 9th is "Miraikan Opening Day" (日本科学未来館開館記念日, Nihon Kagaku Mirai-kan Kaimaku Kinenbi) in Japan. On July 9, 2001, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation — universally known as "Miraikan" (未来館, "Hall of the Future") — opened in Odaiba, Tokyo. The museum, established and operated by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), was conceived to communicate cutting-edge science and technology to the public in engaging, accessible ways, with the first director being JAXA astronaut Mamoru Mohri (毛利衛).

Miraikan: Science for Everyone

Miraikan is Japan's premier science communication institution — dedicated to making frontier science accessible and exciting to visitors of all ages. Unlike traditional science museums that focus on established historical science, Miraikan concentrates on current and emerging research: artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet, space science, life science, and environmental systems. The museum hosts interactive exhibits, resident robots (including Honda's ASIMO and numerous research robots), a planetarium, and regular events featuring working scientists.

Mamoru Mohri's Vision

Miraikan's first director, astronaut Mamoru Mohri — who had flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992 (see also September 12th, Space Day) — brought a researcher's perspective and a communicator's passion to the museum's conception. His vision of a museum where science is not merely displayed but actively communicated by working scientists, where visitors can engage with the frontier of human knowledge, shaped Miraikan's distinctive character.

Fun Facts

• Geo-Cosmos: Miraikan's centerpiece exhibit is Geo-Cosmos (ジオ・コスモス) — a 6.5-meter spherical LED display suspended in the museum's atrium that shows real-time Earth imagery from satellites. The display is updated with actual atmospheric, cloud, and environmental data, making it the world's first large spherical display showing real-time Earth observation data.
• ASIMO demonstrations: Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot demonstrated its capabilities to the public at Miraikan for many years — walking, climbing stairs, and interacting with visitors in live demonstrations that brought Japan's robotics achievements to public attention in a way no laboratory presentation could equal.