About Miffy
Miffy (Dutch: Nijntje, pronounced nine-tyuh) is a little girl bunny originally introduced in the eponymous children’s book from 1955. She is illustrator-author Dick Bruna’s best known and most popular character, featuring in more than 30 books. Miffy appeals to children all over the world, instilling a sense of safety. Many children are able to identify with Miffy and her adventures. She is uncomplicated and innocent, has a positive attitude, and is always open to new experiences.
Miffy at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
The Netherlands pavilion features an interactive experience that draws attention to the global challenges of today, and that cannot be solved by one country alone. We all need to combine our energy, expertise, and ideas. By meeting on “Common Ground,” the Netherlands invites everyone to share their innovations, and create a sustainable future together.
Miffy will join children on their adventure through the pavilion and its experience. She leads the way, strategically placed on children’s eye level at various places in the pavilion. Furthermore, Miffy acts as a friend, explaining the storyline of the pavilion’s experience through simple language and images in a dual-language (English-Japanese) picture book.
Exclusive Miffy merchandise
The Netherlands participation is well aware that Miffy has a large fanbase in Japan. That is why they have joined hands with Mercis BV and Dick Bruna Japan to offer guests at the Netherlands pavilion a range of exclusive Miffy items, not available anywhere else in the world. These include a Miffy plush toy wearing a dress with tulips, another cultural icon of the Netherlands. Highlight is a plush toy depicting Miffy holding the sphere: the immediately recognizable symbol of the Netherlands pavilion.
Special Miffy events
The Netherlands participation is planning several special Miffy-related events. The first will take place on our social media channels, and during Expo at the pavilion itself. Keep an eye out on our Instagram @nlexpo2025 to stay up-to-date with the latest news. More information will be shared through this website as well.
Miffy 70th Anniversary
2025 is not only the year of Expo, it also marks the 70th anniversary of Miffy. The first book, simply titled Nijntje, was first published in Dutch in 1955. While on holiday in the 1950s, Dick Bruna would tell his eldest son bedtime stories about a little white bunny who scampered around the garden of their holiday home. This bunny became the inspiration for Miffy. Miffy’s 70th birthday is celebrated around the world with exhibitions and other events. In Japan, a Miffy-themed area is scheduled to open at Huis ten Bosch in the summer of 2025.
425 Years of Japanese-Dutch relations
At Expo, the Netherlands will celebrate its longstanding relationship with Japan. It dates back 425 years to the year 1600, when the first Dutch ship “De Liefde” arrived on Japanese shores. This eventually led to an exclusive trade relationship, with the Dutch operating from Dejima, in Nagasaki. It also marked the start of extensive cultural exchange, from medicine to language to the arts, up until this day.
Marc Kuipers, Consul-general for the Netherlands in Osaka and Commissioner General for the Netherlands at Expo, said: “Miffy’s popularity in Japan never ceases to amaze me: on many occasions she has helped me break the ice and improve relations with Japanese people. In that sense, it is only fitting that she has been appointed Kids’ Ambassador for the Netherlands at Expo 2025. I cannot wait to see Miffy at the pavilion, and I hope that many Japanese visitors will come to meet her too.”