TOKYO: Masakazu Tokura, head of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said in an interview Thursday that sales of tickets for the international exhibition to be held in the western Japan city of Osaka are expected to speed up soon.
“I think (ticket sales) will accelerate as admission reservations will begin Sunday,” Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the country’s biggest business lobby, said. So far, only around half of the 14 million advance tickets that the organizer aims to sell by the start of the Expo have been sold. “We will actively spread information about ‘National Days’ events and other festivities.”
He also expressed confidence that construction of overseas participants’ pavilions would be completed by the start of the event next April.
“We’d said that construction involving large heavy machinery should be done by the middle of this month, but some sites are seeing delays due to their respective circumstances,” Tokura said. “Still, we can sufficiently deal with the situation, and I am confident that all will be done by the opening (of the Expo).”
The interview took place about six months before the event, scheduled to be held between April 13 and Oct. 13 on the artificial island of Yumeshima.
On the lackluster public enthusiasm for the Expo outside of the Kansai western Japan region, where Osaka is located, Tokura said that the contents of the event are key to spreading its appeals beyond the area.
“We want to actively promote” events that showcase Japanese regional festivals and culture, in addition to pavilions, he said.
“This Expo is a hands-on event bringing together wisdom and technology under the theme of life,” he said. “At the same time, we want to make it offer rich contents, showing the greatness and culture of Japan to the world.”
The success of the Expo hinges on how much these are achieved, he continued, adding that the number of visitors would be one factor for assessment.
JIJI Press