THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 20, 2023 at 18:20 JST
An artist’s rendition of the venue for the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo (Provided by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition)
Japan is facing a bigger bill for the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo, after the construction estimate rose to 235 billion yen ($1.6 billion), a near-doubling of the initial figure.
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition broke the news to government and business officials on Oct. 20. It forecasts the final cost to be 1.9 times the original calculation.
Three parties are to evenly shoulder the construction costs: the central government, the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments and the business sector.
The initial estimate was 125 billion yen, but in 2020 that estimate was raised to 185 billion yen.
The first rise was attributed to increased costs associated with handling the summer heat. The latest increase is due to a surge in the cost of construction materials.
The association in September gave an estimate of about 230 billion yen to the central government, but sources say that figure has gone up again.
The new figure was explained to Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economy minister, Hanako Jimi, the state minister in charge of the expo, as well as Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama.
Representing the business sector was Masayoshi Matsumoto, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation.
Those officials will discuss what to do about the additional cost.
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