1970 Fund to Manage Costs for 2025 Expo Venue; Construction Costs Could Surge to ¥235 Billion

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:46 JST, October 8, 2023

The Osaka prefectural and city governments and business circles have begun discussions on allocating a fund created with proceeds from the 1970 Osaka Expo to the construction of the venue for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The construction costs of the venue are estimated to surge to up to ¥235 billion, a ¥50 billion increase from the current budget. The fund is intended to cover a part of the additional cost.

The central and prefectural governments and the business community had agreed not to use the fund, thus the latest move is a shift in policy. The local governments and business circles are expected to discuss the matter with the central government.

In the past, the central government approved donating money from the fund to the expo bidding committee to support its promotional activities.

According to sources, the amount to be withdrawn from the fund is expected to be up to half of the fund’s balance of ¥19 billion.

The money will be used to partially cover the portion of the construction costs to be borne by the business community. The business community has so far secured about ¥70 billion in donations, mainly from companies based in the Kansai region.