Photo/Illutration Visitors leaving the Osaka Kansai Expo are stuck at Yumeshima Station following a train disruption on the evening of April 22. (Ko Sendo)

OSAKA—About 4,000 people were stranded at Yumeshima Station, the closest train stop to the Osaka Kansai Expo, on April 22 after operations were suspended on one of the few access routes to the site.

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition confirmed the incident on April 23, noting the disruption began around 9:30 p.m. following an accident at Osakako Station on Osaka Metro’s Chuo Line, just two stops from Yumeshima Station.

Services were suspended along the entire line for nearly an hour.

Located on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, the expo site is accessible only via two roadways and the subway line.

With no alternative public transportation options, visitors overcrowded Yumeshima Station after the disruption of services. Entry to the platform was temporarily restricted for safety reasons.

The incident occurred shortly before the expo’s closing time of 10 p.m.

The rainy weather had already thinned the crowd, so only a small number of visitors remained at the venue, according to the association.

Given the situation, expo organizers chose not to instruct attendees to remain at the site or take any other crowd control measure.

PROTOCOL REVIEW

Yasuo Tannaka, the event’s transportation director, acknowledged the logistical challenge of relocating such a large number of people.

“To transport 4,000 people by bus, we would have needed 100 buses, which was not realistic,” he said. “In cases like this, asking people to remain where they are will be our basic approach.”

Tannaka added that protocols for such scenarios will be reviewed in coordination with the expo’s crisis management team, and that clearer communication strategies will be developed.

The association learned about the service stoppage 20 minutes after it began from staff members arriving for night shifts.

Tannaka acknowledged that quicker updates on the train situation could have helped ease congestion at Yumeshima Station by allowing for a more gradual exit of guests.

“We will improve our coordination with Osaka Metro so that we can better respond to similar incidents in the future,” he said.

(This article was written by Koji Nishimura and Yuichi Nobira.)

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