Less than a year has passed until the opening of the Osaka/Kansai Expo on April 13, 2025. Osaka is excited to be hosting the Games for the first time since 1970, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rolls up his sleeves and says, “Preparations will proceed with an all-Japan effort.” However, the venue maintenance costs borne by the national and local governments have exceeded twice, and it has not yet been determined who will cover the costs in the event of a deficit. There is a risk that tax money will be spent on national events. (Political Department/Nobuko Ohno)
Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, is undergoing construction as a venue for the Osaka/Kansai Expo.The large wooden roof (ring) becomes the symbol of the Expo = March 4th
The Osaka-Kansai Expo will be held from April 13th to October 13th next year on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Konohana Ward, Osaka City, with the theme of “Designing a Future Society that Brightens Life.” . Approximately 160 countries, regions and companies will exhibit pavilions.
The Japan Pavilion, a pavilion sponsored by the Japanese government, will introduce cutting-edge technologies such as biogas power generation using food waste within the venue, with the theme of circulation and sustainability. The “Women’s Pavilion,” designed by female architects, and the “Kansai Pavilion,” which will introduce the history and culture of the nine prefectures of Kansai, are also scheduled to be unveiled.
◆An economic effect of approximately 2.7 trillion yen is expected…
The symbol of the Expo is the large roof that surrounds the pavilion area and has a circumference of approximately 2 km. It also protects you from the sun and rain, and you can even walk on it. There are also plans to operate “flying cars” that carry people.
The expected number of visitors is approximately 28.2 million, and the Asia Pacific Research Institute (Osaka City) estimates the economic impact to be approximately 2.7 trillion yen. In principle, admission tickets must be reserved electronically. There are several types of “opening tickets”, including 4,000 yen for adults, 2,200 yen for teenagers (12 to 17 years old), and 1,000 yen for children (4 to 11 years old), which can be entered once for a limited period of two weeks after the opening.
The event began in 2014, when then-Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto proposed the idea and approached the Abe administration. In 2015, a prefectural review committee compiled a report on the possibility of inviting the city, and in 2016, another prefectural committee formulated a basic concept. At this time, Yumeshima, in Osaka Bay, was chosen as a potential site for the venue, as it was a landfill site for construction waste and garbage, and the issue of how to utilize it was a problem. After competing with Russia and Azerbaijan, the host city for 2025 was decided in November 2018. This will be the first time in 20 years that an Expo will be held in Japan, since Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.
◆Venue equipment costs increased from 125 billion yen to 235 billion yen
As a national project, the Expo costs a huge amount of money. 235 billion yen will be spent on “venue development costs,” which will be used to construct buildings within the Expo venue, such as the grand event hall and the large roof ring. At the time of the bid, the bid was 125 billion yen, but it was exceeded twice due to soaring material costs. Divide into three equal parts: the country, Osaka Prefecture/City, and the economic world.
In October of last year, when it was revealed that the venue construction costs would be approximately double the initial amount, opposition parties such as the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan questioned in the Diet how much government money would be required for the Expo. In response to this, the government calculated the national cost burden for the Expo, and as of February this year, it came out to be 164.9 billion yen.
The breakdown includes the government’s share of venue maintenance costs of up to 78.3 billion yen, construction costs for the Japanese pavilion of up to 36 billion yen, support for exhibitors from developing countries of 24 billion yen, security costs of 19.9 billion yen, and national momentum such as advertising. 4 billion yen for cultivation. Momentum-building costs will continue to increase as necessary.
Personnel costs for staff, utilities, and water are classified as “operating costs” and do not include government funds. The Japan Association for World Expositions (Expo Association) plans to cover operating costs with revenue from ticket sales and sales of goods related to the official character “Myakumyaku”, but these are also expected to increase. The association initially estimated operating costs to be 80.9 billion yen, but after conducting a closer look, taking into account recent increases in personnel costs, they came up with an estimate of 116 billion yen, more than 40% higher.
◆Infrastructure development costs are 9.7 trillion yen
Some have pointed out that the government’s announcement of “national expenses for the Expo” does not accurately represent the reality.
According to government documents, the national, local, and private sectors will invest 9.7 trillion yen in infrastructure development costs related to the Expo. Of this amount, 81 billion yen will be spent on sewerage development and subway extensions around the venue, 758 billion yen will be spent on road maintenance to improve access to the venue and functional enhancement of Kansai Airport, and earthquake-proofing of major stations and river improvements will be made. It is estimated that each will cost approximately 2.5 trillion yen. The final figure for the proportion of national spending in infrastructure costs has not been announced, as it has not yet been determined.
Separately, government spending of 2.8 trillion yen will be spent on an action plan for each government agency that compiles related projects such as demonstration experiments at the Expo. Projects include a “flying car” scheduled to be operated at the venue, advancements in multilingual translation technology, and dissemination of food culture.
Regarding these costs, a Cabinet Secretariat official explained, “This is a project carried out for the original administrative purpose, so it is difficult to calculate the amount that will be used only for the Expo.” As it is not new or additional for the Expo, it is not included in the estimate of “national expenses for the Expo.”
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan argued, “With a large number of infrastructure construction and related projects planned, there is a possibility that tax dollars will be injected into the project in a lump-sum manner.” In December last year, we requested a “preliminary investigation” from the House of Representatives to clarify the full extent of the burden on the public. They are calling on the government to release detailed costs surrounding the Expo.
◆The scaled-down Aichi Expo became profitable
How was the past World Expo held in Japan? According to official records, the 2005 Aichi Expo cost 145.3 billion yen to develop the venue and 63.2 billion yen to operate. The scale is small compared to the Osaka/Kansai Expo’s venue development costs of 235 billion yen and operational costs of 116 billion yen (both as of February).
However, the Aichi Expo also had its ups and downs. The “Kaisho no Mori” in Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, which was envisioned as the main venue, is home to rare flora and fauna, and citizens have been campaigning against it since the bidding stage. In 1999, about two years after the event was scheduled, it was discovered that the endangered goshawk was nesting in the area. It was also revealed that the Bureau International de la Exposition (BIE) had expressed concerns about the plan to use the site of the Expo for residential purposes, forcing major revisions to the plan.
In the end, we managed to open the event at Aichi Youth Park in Nagakute, the same prefecture, as the main venue. The 2.6km aerial corridor connecting the pavilions became a symbol, and long lines formed every day to see the mammoth excavated from permafrost. Approximately 22.05 million people visited, far exceeding the target of 15 million, partly due to the large number of repeat local customers. We also achieved a surplus.
Professor Koichi Kobayashi (social policy) of Nagoya Gakuin University, who is an expert on World Expos, said, “Although the Aichi Expo was significantly scaled down due to concerns about environmental destruction, the number of visitors exceeded expectations and generated surpluses.” pointing out. Regarding the Osaka/Kansai Expo, he advises, “If the citizens want it, we should consider holding it at a smaller scale and with lower costs.”