AUTHORITIES in Japan not only have a depreciating yen, an ageing demographic and tariff turmoil to worry about. As World Expo Osaka draws nearer, slow ticket sales, huge construction cost overruns and doubts about the need to host outlandish events are mounting.
Lagging ticket sales have been blamed on an online booking system unable to let prospective visitors choose which pavilions they want to visit as man pavilions have not even been built.
And it’s been reported that the people of Osaka are less inclined to share the enthusiasm city leaders hold for the event. News agency Kyodo reports that the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition expects 28.2 million visitors during the event, which runs from April 13 to October 13. As of January 29, however, organisers said they sold less than 8 million tickets, according to reports.
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It is feared that Japanese taxpayers – particularly in Osaka – may have to bear the brunt if the show is a commercial flop. This has led to questions raised about the wisdom of hosting a World Expo in Japan which faces economic challenges brought about by an ageing population and has plenty of world-class structures – at least in Tokyo.
“Big events like this, the Olympics and so on really should be done in countries where the under 30s account for the majority of the population because it is these people who are enthusiastic and want to take part,” technology consultant Morinosuke Kawaguchi told the South China Morning Post.
“In Japan, the average age is now 50-something and these people are not interested in expos or huge sporting events; they want to know that their pensions are going to be paid in a few years and that they will have healthcare in the future.”
Now, after fairs stretching back to 1851 that have given the world monuments from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Space Needle in Seattle, government officials and community leaders have grown sceptical that the world still needs such events”
– Jim Bowden, Wood Central
Several countries are also reported to have withdrawn from the expo, mainly due to financial reasons. They include Argentina, El Salvador Greece, Iran, Russia and South Africa.
The Post reported that as of January 19, only three of the 42 national pavilions planned for the expo had been built. Plans to make the Grand Roof building the home of Japan’s first legally regulated casino have been pushed back till 2030 as the country grapples with costs. The casino project was originally planned to seamlessly start after the expo, timber industry website Wood Central reported.
“Delays reflect structural problems, such as growing labour shortages and overtime restrictions, that will plague the world’s fourth-biggest economy for years to come,” Wood Central’s Jim Bowden commented. “Although organisers say the event will take place as planned, looming over this are political and business infighting, ballooning costs.”
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A plan to operate flying taxis serving the expo site was abandoned due to safety challenges, while ideas to boost ticket sales include joint admission to the expo and the nearby Universal Studio Japan theme park.
Dubai, Busan and Shanghai have been among the cities to have hosted a World Expo, which goes to a different city every five years with each participating country showcasing their tech advancements and culture.
Commentators have noticed that countries keen to project their image onto the world are willing to spend more to host or attend the event, whereas among Japanese the question is why there is a need to do so – a feeling that could well spread globally.
As Bowden observes: “Now, after fairs stretching back to 1851 that have given the world monuments from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Space Needle in Seattle, government officials and community leaders have grown sceptical that the world still needs such events.”
Main image… the World Expo construction site in a picture first published in October 2024
