Growing Concerns in Osaka: Lawmakers and Business Owners Voice Uncertainty Ahead of the Expo

Revealing the lack of drawing power

“I can honestly say that I have nothing but concerns. Just looking at ticket sales and the state of preparations, I can’t say otherwise.”

A legislator from the Osaka Restoration Association lamented the rapidly approaching Expo in this way.

With less than a month until the opening of the “Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025” on April 13, similar concerns are echoed not only by this legislator but also in the voices from the city council, local communities, and business operators.

“The progress is close to the worst imaginable, and within the party, many are asking, ‘Is this really going to be okay?’ The only saving grace, if you can call it that, is that due to the lack of excitement, only a limited number of media outlets are critically investigating the situation. With the Upper House election coming up this year, it’s a real headache,” said the same legislator.

On March 12, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition announced that approximately 8.21 million advance tickets had been sold. Later, they stated that while the initial goal was 14 million tickets, they were on track to reach 10 million. However, the response from sponsoring companies has been harsh.

An employee of a company participating in the Expo revealed:

“From quite early on, there was an announcement about ‘inviting employees of sponsoring companies.’ However, when that wasn’t enough to fill the numbers, they expanded the invitation to include family and relatives. I was shocked and thought, ‘Is this really okay?’ But even with free invitations, very few people were interested. It made me question whether an event with such low drawing power truly has any value.”

Concerns about ticket sales have also been raised within the Liberal Democratic Party. A member of the Osaka branch of the LDP shared:

“In early February, when Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura (49) had a direct discussion with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (68), many within the party had negative reactions to his statements. Former Expo Minister Eiko Jimi (49) had repeatedly insisted on the need for same-day ticket sales and physical paper tickets in addition to digital ones. However, Governor Yoshimura and the Expo Association completely dismissed the idea. And now, at this late stage, he is presenting it to the Prime Minister as if it were his own idea. Frankly, it’s exasperating.”

Shop owners also sigh in frustration

Another LDP lawmaker criticized the response of the Expo Association.

“The level of panic within the Expo Association is extraordinary. Suddenly, they started saying, ‘We will invite all local legislators in Osaka Prefecture.’ They probably want the legislators to visit and promote the Expo in their communities. But before worrying about attendance, there are more pressing issues to resolve, such as traffic regulations and securing spaces for incoming materials. Their response is so haphazard that it’s just exasperating.”

At Kansai International Airport and in Osaka’s Minami district, banners and posters featuring the official mascot “Myakumyaku” are displayed everywhere, but hardly anyone stops to take a photo or even glance at them. When asking around the city, the predominant sentiment was, “We have more important things to worry about than the Expo.”

A restaurant owner in Tsuruhashi, a district known for its Koreatown, shared his thoughts:

“Right now in Osaka, restaurants offering 50-yen highballs are popping up everywhere, drawing in customers. The popularity of these ultra-cheap establishments reflects the state of the economy here. Hardly any restaurant owners are expecting to profit from the Expo.”

A shopkeeper in Minami’s shopping district added with heavy sarcasm:

“The only news about the Expo is about overpriced soba costing over 3,000 yen or a 200-million-yen toilet—things that seem completely detached from reality for regular people. We won’t know for sure until it opens, but I don’t see how we’ll benefit from it. I had high hopes for Governor Yoshimura, but in the end, he sided with the ruling party’s budget proposal. So what’s the real difference between him and former representative Nobuyuki Baba?”

How will the widespread anxiety in Osaka evolve in the next month?