Michael MozzhechkovA year before the opening of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, excitement for the event is low and ticket sales have been sluggish.
There has also been criticism of construction delays and rising costs making construction difficult.
At a press conference on Tuesday organized by the Japan World Expo 2025 Association, producers asked questions such as “How is construction of the Expo going” and “Have you been able to get taxpayers to understand the rising costs?”
In November, projected construction costs were increased to 235 billions yen, 90% higher than the original estimate made when Osaka was chosen to host the event. The association explained that the increase was due to high inflation.
Now the Big Roof alone, which is the symbol of the Expo, will cost ¥34.4 billion to build and is being criticized as “the most expensive umbrella in the world.”
The lack of excitement also dampened ticket sales. The association expects 28.2 million visitors over the six-month period and plans to sell 14 million tickets from the end of November last year until the Expo opens.
However, as of April 10, only about 1.3 million tickets had been sold. In about a quarter of the sales period, the sales target was achieved by only 9%.
The business community is unhappy. More than 80% of the exhibition’s operating expenses, or 96.9 billion yen, will be covered by ticket sales. If sales remain sluggish, the show could end up in the red, and the business community is likely to do so. some of the shortfall will have to be made up.
There are currently no plans to create any kind of eye-catching display at the exhibition, such as the moon rock that was displayed at the Osaka exhibition in 1970, or the mammoth specimen at the Aichi exhibition in 2005.
“The exhibition already has a bad reputation. The work will not be completed on time unless something is done soon,” said a senior official from the Kansai Economic Federation.
The association will consider ways to sell tickets. Currently, tickets are generally only sold online. But after criticism that it discourages seniors from buying tickets, the association is considering selling tickets at convenience stores as well as paper tickets.
