2025 Expo Osaka: Event Kicks off Amid Lingering Concerns; Test Run Revealed Issues with Long Lines, Risk of Heatstroke

By Hiroyuki Umemoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:53 JST, April 13, 2025

OSAKA — The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo opened on Sunday with operational issues coming to light during a rehearsal just before the launch. It is urgent to address these matters so as to make a success of the event, which involves Japan and 158 other countries and regions and is expected to draw 28.2 million visitors.

“It is of great significance for people around the world to gather together and come into contact with the latest technologies and diverse ways of thinking at a time when the world is facing the danger of being divided,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at the opening ceremony at the Expo venue on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka.

Ishiba has been putting significant effort into promoting the Expo, due to the sluggish ticket sales. As of Wednesday, 9.06 million advance tickets had been sold, far short of the target of 14 million.

In the Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany, the number of visitors was less than half the expectation. The German central government and the local government were forced to make up for a deficit equivalent to ¥120 billion.

To cover the Osaka-Kansai Expo’s operating costs of nearly ¥116 billion, it is necessary to sell 18 million tickets. This means 9 million more tickets need to be sold over the six months from the event’s launch. If this cannot be achieved, taxpayers’ money will be used to cover the deficits.

However, it is undecided who will bear what share of the burden.

Heatstroke

Making the venue a safe, comfortable place is essential to attract visitors. However, the three-day test run held from April 4 to 6, in which about 100,000 residents of Osaka Prefecture and others took part, revealed a number of issues.

There were long waiting lines at the entrance gates, partly because it took a long time to inspect visitors’ bags and scan QR codes on electronic tickets. Another challenge is how to prevent heatstroke in the summer.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the organizer of the Expo, wants to avoid waiting lines. To that end, it introduced a system in which visitors are required to book their visit dates and times with the overall venue and individual pavilions.

Since the event is unusually being held on an artificial island, means of transportation are limited. The reservation system was introduced to avoid the confusion that would be caused by overcrowding, but it remains to be seen whether things will work out as planned.

At Universal Studios Japan (USJ), a theme park located near the Expo site in the same ward, the waiting time to get into the park is around 10 minutes even during the busy season. Visitors in waiting lines are asked to take things out of their pockets for inspection in advance, and the park opens more than 30 minutes early on busy days.

Up to 220,000 people are expected to visit the Expo daily, much more than during the test run. Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has insisted that the organizers should consider opening the venue earlier than the scheduled opening time of 9 a.m.

However, the association remains wary of changing the opening time because it could cause confusion. So, it will only call for visitors to cooperate to ensure smooth entry.

Methane gas

Yumeshima consists of reclaimed land made from waste and other materials, so there is a risk of methane gas. The association spent over ¥3 billion to install ventilation equipment and other facilities, but there were still concerns ahead of the opening.

“If a serious accident occurs, the Expo will be regarded as a failure,” a senior official at the association said. Concerned about this point, the association intends to strengthen measures related to methane gas, such as measuring levels of the gas more often.