Companies

Japanese Construction Company to Reuse Wood Materials from Expo to Build Rental Houses

Courtesy of Daito Trust Construction Co.
One of the wooden huts in the Osaka-Kansai Expo venue. Their wood materials are planned to be reused for construction of houses to rent nationwide.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, November 5, 2025

Daito Trust Construction Co. has announced that it will reuse wood materials from structures at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo venue in rental housing to be built across Japan.

The company plans to use the materials for at least one building in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, with the aim of contributing to decarbonization through utilizing the legacy of the Expo.

The company will reuse wood materials from the demolition of “pop-up stages.” The stages were built by Daito Trust and other construction firms, and have been used for events such as music concerts.

For the stages, domestic lumber was used for wooden decks that also served as spectators’ seating.

The company has been building about 5,000 units of rental housing across Japan annually. It plans to mainly use the reused materials for purposes such as foundations for walls.

The company is also considering making use of wooden huts that were used for storage or as Expo performers’ dressing rooms, such as by transporting them intact by truck to construction sites, where they can be used as temporary offices.

The planned quantity of wood materials from the Expo to be reused is equivalent to 9,100 pieces of lumber, the company said.