Photo/Illutration An illustration of the venue for the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo to be held on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay (Provided by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition)

The construction cost of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo continues to balloon as it was recently discovered that some bathrooms at the venue will cost 200 million yen ($1.33 million) to build.

However, the central government does not think that the money is being flushed down the drain. 

“It is a large facility with dozens of toilets and it is not particularly expensive compared to the cost of building a typical public restroom,” economy minister Ken Saito said at a news conference on Feb. 20.

He denied reviewing the plan.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which is under the ministry’s jurisdiction, plans to install approximately 40 public restrooms at the venue.

Eight of these facilities were designed by young, up-and-coming architects, and restroom specifications were made with design considerations in mind, Saito explained.

“The contractors were chosen through competitive bidding procedures,” the minister said.

He added that “some of these facilities were contracted at approximately 200 million yen.”

Regarding the possibility of reviewing the plan, Saito said, “I heard (from the association) that there is no plan to change the ordering policy at this time.”

Hanako Jimi, state minister in charge of the expo, mentioned the 200-million-yen bathroom issue at a news conference the same day.

“It is a large-scale public restroom facility that will have 50 to 60 toilets installed,” she said. 

Like Saito, Jimi said the price “is not necessarily high.”

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