Insights from Tobita Shinchi on the Kansai Expo’s Effect on the New District

A prostitution bust in Matsushima Shinchi

By October 15, the Osaka Prefectural Police arrested five individuals, including the management, for violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (solicitation) at a ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) in “Matsushima Shinchi” in Nishi Ward, for facilitating prostitution. The manager was allegedly involved in running a host club and is suspected of having women engage in prostitution when they could no longer pay off their debts. This crackdown seemed to shock many, given the context of the new district.

With the Osaka Kansai Expo set to take place from April 13 to October 13 next year for a total of 184 days, various rumors are circulating about what will happen to Osaka’s chonnomachi area, commonly referred to as the new district. Online, there are voices expressing concern about business operations, with speculation that all establishments might close during the expo or that there might be large-scale crackdowns before the expo begins.

Tobita Shinchi, the largest ryotei district in Osaka, temporarily closed during the G20 Osaka Summit held on June 28-29, 2019, and refrained from business operations to “prevent local confusion” and to ensure that it was a gathering where people would say, “I’m glad it was held in Japan.”

What measures will be taken during the Osaka Kansai Expo in 2025? At the beginning of October, I visited the area to gather firsthand accounts from people in the new district and its surroundings about the potential impact of the expo.