2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo Visitors Exceed 25 Million Mark Despite Initial Low Enthusiasm

By Akira Inohara and Takeru Tsuzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

14:38 JST, October 13, 2025

OSAKA — The 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo concluded its six-month run Monday, with visitor numbers having exceeded the 25 million mark despite a low level of interest before it opened. The event’s operational budget is expected to record a surplus.

The artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka, where the Expo is taking place, was packed with visitors on Sunday. By noon, there was a five-hour wait to enter the Italian pavilion, one of the most popular attractions, where visitors could view valuable artworks such as the ancient Roman sculpture “Farnese Atlas.”

Before the Expo began, rising costs and delays to the construction of pavilions for contributors from overseas cast a shadow over the event. Construction costs increased to ¥235 billion after being raised twice from the initial estimate of ¥125 billion.

After the event opened, however, the Expo began to receive positive attention which continued to grow. Exhibits featured at some of the pavilions were highlighted in the media and were shared on social media. “Hands-on experiences,” such as exhibits that would usually only be available overseas, proved particularly popular, along with international cuisine and being able to interact with staff from overseas.

After the Golden Week holidays, the Expo began to see daily visitors exceed 100,000. From Sept. 12, that figure surpassed the 200,000 mark for 30 consecutive days.

As of Saturday, the number of visitors reached a provisional total of 25,077,601, according to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. Although the number falls short of a predicted 28.2 million visitors, the number still surpassed the total who attended the 2005 Aichi Expo by about 3 million.

By region, 63% of visitors were from Kansai, while 15% came from Kanto. Visitors from the Kyushu region made up 2% of visitors, while foreign visitors accounted for 6% of the total.

Ticket sales rebounded after the Expo opened, so the event is expected to record an operational budget surplus of between ¥23 billion and ¥28 billion.

When asked by reporters on Thursday whether the expo was successful, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said that he thinks it “got a passing grade.”

“It received many visitors and was able to meet the objective indicators by achieving a surplus, for instance,” Yoshimura said.