STORY: Expo 2025 Osaka facing high stakes amid multiple headwinds
SHOOTING TIME: June 27, 2024
DATELINE: June 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:06
LOCATION: OSAKA, Japan
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the construction site of the Expo 2025 Osaka
2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese): JUN TAKASHINA, Deputy secretary-general of Japan Association for 2025 World Exposition
3. various of the construction site of the Expo 2025 Osaka

STORYLINE:

The 2025 World Exposition in Osaka City, western Japan, is scheduled to run for six months from April 13 to Oct. 13, 2025, under the theme of "Designing Future Society for Our Lives."

Though Japan aims to use the international platform to showcase its technological and cultural prowess, multiple practical challenges have posed extreme uncertainties to the result.

A total of 161 countries and regions as well as nine international organizations have confirmed participation in the expo.
   
With around 10 months until the event begins, construction on the Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka's Konohana Ward is in high gear. The Grand Ring, the symbol for the venue, is currently more than 90 percent complete.

Once constructed, the circular structure will become one of the largest wooden buildings worldwide with an outer circumference of around 2 km.
   
So far, 40 countries have found Japanese contractors to build their own pavilions, which are called Type A pavilions and are considered the highlight of the expo as they feature authentic and aesthetic exterior designs created by participating nations, a significant fall from the original number of 60 countries, while another about 10 nations have not yet found appropriate contractors.

According to Japanese media, construction delays reflect structural problems such as labor shortages and overtime restrictions that will plague the world's fourth-largest economy for years to come.
   
India and Iran among other nations have decided to quit Type A and go for Type X, simply-constructed pavilions sponsored by expo organizers, thus incurring an extra 7.6 billion yen in costs. The organizers are now building nine Type X pavilions, six of whose fate are still at stake, provoking criticism by the public as spending waste.
   
Mexico, Estonia and Argentina, which were set to build their own pavilions, have decided to withdraw their participation in the expo.
   
SOUNDBITE (Japanese): JUN TAKASHINA, Deputy secretary-general of Japan Association for 2025 World Exposition
"So far, 51 countries have chosen Type A pavilions. That is, to design and build pavilions by themselves.
Among them, 40 countries have found construction contractors, and 32 of them have started construction.
About 10 countries have not yet decided whether to go for Type A.
As there is no much time left, we will keep in touch with those countries that have not yet made a decision."

Although the organizer released its plan for the expo around four years ago, the world fair has generated little buzz in Japan. An Asahi Shimbun survey conducted among 2,859 readers showed 81 percent of respondents have no intention of visiting the expo; even among locals in Osaka, 62 percent remained uninterested.
   
Lack of cutting-edge technology as well as vague themes and relevance in the modern era are among the reasons for dampening public enthusiasm.
   
Osaka Expo aims to attract 28.2 million visitors, among whom 3.5 million are from overseas. Whereas according to the official website, around 2.8 million tickets have been sold online till now, far less than the target of 14 million.

The expo organizer has decided to start selling paper tickets at convenience and tourism stores as of October at the same time in order to meet the target. Yet it means an extra 2.1 billion yen added to the budget.
   
In addition to the unclear ticket revenues, escalating costs have become a pressing concern for Japan as it hosts global events. The expo association has nearly doubled the construction cost to 235 billion yen, about the size of the economy of a small country like the Solomon Islands.

The costs will be shared by Japan's national government, Osaka prefecture, the city and the business community. Residents of the city will bear the heaviest tax burden, at 19,000 yen per person, according to Osaka estimates.
   
Still, the fate of the pavilions, especially the signature Grand Ring, is yet to be decided. To be dismantled is reportedly a mainstream solution. According to Japanese media, only less than one-fourth of the wooden material could be reused. This might put extra pressure on the expo's economic outcome.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Osaka, Japan.
(XHTV)