2025 Expo Osaka: Man Arrested for Obstructing Operation at Expo Venue; ‘Joke’ about Carrying a Bomb Led to Evacuation, West Gate Closure

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:50 JST, April 15, 2025

OSAKA ‐ A man was arrested for allegedly obstructing security guards’ operation over lying about having a bomb at the entrance of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo venue, the police announced on Tuesday. This is the first arrest at the Expo venue since it started on Sunday.

Some part of the West Gate was temporarily closed due to the incident, forcing about 200 visitors to evacuate for about 30 minutes.

Osaka prefectural police arrested the 80-year-old man, who lives in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business. The man allegedly obstructed the security guards’ operation by refusing a baggage inspection at the West Gate of the Expo venue on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka, Monday morning and saying, “I have a bomb in my backpack,” leading to visitors being evacuated.

The man reportedly said: “I was excited about the Expo and had been looking forward to it. I did it jokingly. I didn’t mean to obstruct the operation.”

The man didn’t have a bomb. He had a season pass, which gave him unlimited entry to the venue for the duration of the Expo.