Japan gov’t says overall expenses for 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo to reach $5.8 billion

The 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo would need the building of infrastructure totaling 839 billion yen ($5.8 billion), including venue access, according to a December 19 announcement from the national government.

Of the 839 billion yen, or the majority of the construction expenditures for the exhibition site, 164.7 billion yen will come from the central government.

Given the significant increase above the initial estimate, the federal government plans to assemble a group of experts to examine the appropriateness of providing government funding to the exhibition.

The state minister in charge of the exhibition, Hanako Jimi, said during a news conference, “We will continue to gather various perspectives and present them transparently to the public at the appropriate juncture.”

The bulk of the 164.7 billion yen allotted by the federal government—78.3 billion yen—is earmarked for venue construction. The federal government, the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments, and the corporate community split this cost evenly.

Furthermore, 36 billion yen are allocated for the construction of the “Japan Pavilion,” which will be shown by the government of Japan. The exhibition expenses for less developed countries will be covered by an additional 24 billion yen. It is projected that the venue would incur expenses of 19.9 billion yen for safety and security.

An estimated 3.8 billion yen will be used for the event’s nationwide promotion, leaving 2.7 billion yen to pay for the exhibition’s hosting and other related expenses.

In addition to these fees, there will be expenditures for marketing and interest-generating initiatives for the exhibition in the next fiscal year and beyond.

At least 9.7 trillion yen will be spent on infrastructure development, according to the expo-related infrastructure development plan unveiled in 2021. Of this amount, 839 billion yen will be used on maintenance directly associated with the exhibition, including as subway expansions and sewage upgrades.

The remaining funds will go toward indirect infrastructure development, such developing highways in Chugoku and Shikoku and mitigating earthquakes in the Nankai Trough.

A total of 3.4 trillion yen will be spent on various ministries’ and agencies’ displays and events, including the “flying car” that will be present at the site.

Regarding the cost of government ministries’ and agencies’ initiatives and infrastructure improvements, Jimi said that the government “is not seeking new or additional burdens for the expo” and that these improvements “will be implemented regardless of whether the expo is held.”

The whole cost presentation by the national government is in response to the pledge made by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a special Diet session.

Concerns have been raised by several opposition parties over the connection between the large development costs of the infrastructure and the integrated resort (IR) with a casino that will open after the expo. This will probably come up in the next regular Diet session at the beginning of the year.

Economy Minister Ken Saito said on December 19 that a team of outside experts will be formed by the government to look into the costs and assess if the implementation was appropriate.

Original story by: The Asahi Shimbun