Photo/Illutration Masakazu Tokura, front, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition chair, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 24 alongside Hiroyuki Ishige, association secretary-general. (Kazuhito Suwa)

The Osaka Kansai Expo operator announced on Dec. 24 that the world fair's operating surplus is now projected to land between 32 billion and 37 billion yen ($205 million and $237 million).

This is 9 billion yen more than the forecast released in October, the month the Osaka Kansai Expo ended after kicking off in April, according to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition. 

The increase is due to additional revenue from fees and charges paid by on-site stores, which were not fully accounted for at the time.

Operating expenses refer to money spent on venue management and events that were supposed to be paid for out of the revenue from ticket sales and store fees. The actual revenue has reached 148 billion yen, an increase of 32 billion yen from the October projection.

Ticket sales totaled 119.5 billion yen, 22.6 billion yen above the projection, and store fees doubled to 16.2 billion yen.

Masakazu Tokura, who chairs the association, commented on the increased surplus at a Tokyo news conference held on the same day.

“Thanks to the large number of visitors, licensing revenue from goods such as Myaku-Myaku also contributed significantly," he said.  

Separate from operating costs are the venue construction expenses estimated at 235 billion yen.

The association has also revised the number of tickets sold from 22.07 million to 22.25 million and revealed that there were approximately 1.95 million unused tickets.

The proportion of unused tickets was 8.7 percent, exceeding the 5.7 percent recorded at the 2005 expo held in Aichi Prefecture.

Tokura surmised, “The majority of unused tickets were advance tickets purchased in bulk by companies, and cases where individuals bought tickets but couldn’t attend are likely very few.”

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is the association's vice chair, requested that the expo's official mascots Myaku-Myaku and smaller Komyaku be put into the public domain.

During the board meeting also held Dec. 24, Yoshimura said he wants these characters to remain familiar for years to come as part of the expo’s legacy.

Kumamoto Prefecture’s official character Kumamon is similarly available for free use by companies, organizations and individuals as long as it benefits the prefecture.

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