Photo/Illutration Construction continues on the Grand Roof, a wooden ring that will serve as a centerpiece of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo. (Toyokazu Kosugi)

With Nov. 30 marking the 500-day countdown before the opening of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo, the mood is filled with concerns over rising construction costs and delays rather than excitement.

The latest revelation is that the central government will have to fork over an additional 80 billion yen ($544 million) or so to pay for construction of the Japan Pavilion as well as providing support for developing nations to participate, among other expenses.

That follows the bad news earlier in November of a second increase in total construction costs for the world expo. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had long distanced himself from the extravaganza because administration officials viewed it as an unwanted gift left by his two predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga.

But with reports coming in that pavilion construction was way behind schedule, aides to Kishida began raising concerns that Japan’s trust within the international community could be hurt if the expo did not start as scheduled from April 2025.

At a meeting in late August, Kishida made clear that the central government was fully committed to the project and would take the initiative in ensuring its success.

Also in August, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition hashed out a new pavilion proposal in place of the Type A ones that foreign governments were responsible for covering the various associated construction costs.

The new Type X pavilion would have the association pay for and provide uniform prefabricated structures with foreign governments only having to pay for exterior and interior decorations to incorporate their unique cultural stamp.

But as of now, only two foreign governments have expressed interest in the Type X pavilion.

Many sources involved in expo preparations blame the lack of communications among higher officials who have essentially been thrown together in the Japan association from different central and local government entities as well as the business sector.

That background has made it difficult to share in the worries that the pavilion construction will not be completed in time, according to sources.

That makeup of the association is also blamed for the delay in formally approving a higher estimated construction cost, even though many officials realized that surging consumer prices from 2022 would inevitably lead to pricier construction materials and higher labor costs.

And while 24 foreign governments have decided on which construction company will handle their Type A pavilion, no pavilion has yet begun construction.

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