High stakes for Expo 2025 Osaka amid multiple headwinds-Xinhua

This photo taken on June 27, 2024 shows the construction site of the Grand Ring, the symbol for Expo 2025 Osaka, on the Yumeshima artificial island in Japan. The stakes are high for Expo 2025 Osaka in less than a year away, as preparations are picking up the pace amid concerns over pavilion construction setbacks, low public interest and uncertain economic outcome.

The 2025 World Exposition in Osaka City, western Japan, is scheduled to run for six months from April 13 through Oct. 13, 2025, under the theme of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." Though Japan aims to use the international platform to showcase its technological and cultural prowess, multiple practical challenges have posed extreme uncertainties to the result. (Xinhua/Zhong Ya)

TOKYO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The stakes are high for Expo 2025 Osaka in less than a year away, as preparations are picking up the pace amid concerns over pavilion construction setbacks, low public interest and uncertain economic outcome.

PREPARATIONS GATHERING PACE

A total of 161 countries and regions as well as nine international organizations have confirmed participation in the expo.

With around ten months until the event begins, construction on the Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka's Konohana Ward is in high gear. The Grand Ring, the symbol for the venue, is currently more than 90 percent complete. Once constructed, the circular structure will become one of the largest wooden buildings worldwide with an outer circumference of around 2 km.

Jun Takashina, deputy secretary-general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, told the press Thursday that construction of the pavilions sponsored by event organizers will be completed in July and that of the private section and thematic project pavilions will be around November.

Tokyo-headquartered corporation Pasona Group will display a living heart model developed by Osaka University professor emeritus Yoshiki Sawa at the expo. By maintaining an optimal temperature, the heart with a diameter of around 2 cm and thickness of 0.1 mm could continue to beat for approximately two weeks.

PAVILION HEADACHES

During a press tour of the construction site of the Expo, Xinhua reporter saw much space remains empty.

So far, 40 countries have found Japanese contractors to build their own pavilions, which are called Type A pavilions and are considered the highlight of the expo as they feature authentic and aesthetic exterior designs created by participating nations, a significant fall from the original number of 60 countries, while another about 10 nations have not yet found appropriate contractors. According to Japanese media, construction delays reflect structural problems such as labor shortages and overtime restrictions that will plague the world's fourth-largest economy for years to come.

India and Iran among other nations have decided to quit Type A and go for Type X, simply-constructed pavilions sponsored by expo organizers, thus incurring an extra 7.6 billion yen in costs. The organizers are now building nine Type X pavilions, six of whose fate are still at stake, provoking criticism by the public as spending waste.

Mexico, Estonia and Argentina, which were set to build their own pavilions, have decided to withdraw their participation in the expo.

The Diplomat magazine said in a report that the delay in pavilion construction has thrown a spanner in Japan's ambition to show it can hold a world-class event and win influence.

UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC PROSPECTS

Although the organizer released its plan for the expo around four years ago, the world fair has generated little buzz in Japan. An Asahi Shimbun survey conducted among 2,859 readers showed 81 percent of respondents have no intention of visiting the expo; even among locals in Osaka, 62 percent remained uninterested.

Lack of cutting-edge technology as well as vague themes and relevance in the modern era are among the reasons for dampening public enthusiasm.

A Tokyo female surnamed Tanatsugu told Xinhua reporter, "I will not travel to Osaka to attend the expo. Till now I could find nothing that is attractive enough for me to do so. To watch the expo online will be similar and I can't say the organizer has publicized the event enough." Recalling her adventure at the 1970 Osaka Expo, she said, "It is a shame that nowadays you can't see something as amazing as deceased artist Okamoto Taro's 'The Tower of the Sun,' which represents the decline of Japan's national power."

Osaka Expo aims to attract 28.2 million visitors, among whom 3.5 million are from overseas. Whereas according to the official website, around 2.8 million tickets have been sold online till now, far less than the target of 14 million. The expo organizer has decided to start selling paper tickets at convenience and tourism stores as of October at the same time in order to meet the target. Yet it means an extra 2.1 billion yen added to the budget. "With prices in Japan soaring and the yen sliding, most Japanese people might not afford to attend the expo," Hidetoshi Tashiro, chief economist at Japan's Sigma Capital Ltd., told Xinhua.

In addition to the unclear ticket revenues, escalating costs have become a pressing concern for Japan as it hosts global events. The expo association has nearly doubled the construction cost to 235 billion yen, about the size of the economy of a small country like the Solomon Islands. The costs will be shared by Japan's national government, Osaka prefecture, the city and the business community. Residents of the city will bear the heaviest tax burden, at 19,000 yen per person, according to Osaka estimates.

"Only a small portion like pavilion building companies could benefit from holding the expo. The majority of Japanese people are unable to share a piece of the cake," said Tanatsugu.

Still, the fate of the pavilions, especially the signature Grand Ring, is yet to be decided. To be dismantled is reportedly a mainstream solution. According to Japanese media, only less than one-fourth of the wooden material could be reused. This might put extra pressure on the Expo's economic outcome.

Mayuko Sano, a professor at Kyoto University, said it is wrong to expect Japan to capture the times, promote Japan or boost the economy; if the expo could inspire visitors to think about life or change their views on life, then the expo could be said to be a success.

Nonetheless, Sano's opinion is harshly criticized by Japanese news site Diamond online, arguing that for taxpayers, the effect of the expo is judged by whether it will benefit all sectors of the economy in the long run. ■

This photo taken on June 27, 2024 shows the construction site of pavilions on the Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka, Japan. The stakes are high for Expo 2025 Osaka in less than a year away, as preparations are picking up the pace amid concerns over pavilion construction setbacks, low public interest and uncertain economic outcome.