Subcontractors protest unpaid work on 8 overseas Osaka expo pavilions

Kyodo News

2 days ago

OSAKA - Subcontractors involved in the construction of eight overseas pavilions at the World Exposition in Osaka are claiming they have not been paid for their work, with organizers and the prefectural government offering little help in what they have deemed is a private matter.
Some subcontractors are preparing to sue GL Events Japan, the prime contractor for four of the overseas pavilions involved in nonpayment disputes. Around 20 subcontractors gathered in protest in front of the French company's Japan branch in Osaka city on July 10, demanding to be paid.
Takayoshi Tsujimoto, the 54-year-old president of Osaka-based construction company Rego said he was initially surprised that a small company like his was approached to work on overseas pavilions. But a desire to see the expo succeed, and trust in GL Events given its track record in international events, prompted him to take on jobs for the Serbian and German pavilions.
Problems, however, began to mount as soon as work began last fall. Steel frames that arrived from overseas differed from the blueprints, while workers were instructed almost daily to perform tasks not in the original contract, causing labor costs and heavy machinery rental fees to balloon.
After more than two months of fruitless negotiations, Tsujimoto plans to file a lawsuit seeking approximately 340 million yen ($2.3 million) in unpaid construction fees from GL Events. Another company in western Japan that worked on the Malta pavilion filed a suit in June seeking more than 110 million yen.
GL Events said that it complies with "contractual obligations with each company and Japanese laws."
Meanwhile, Jun Takashina, a deputy secretary general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, has said that "it is a matter between the parties involved."
Several subcontractors formed a victims' group at the end of May, requesting reimbursement from the prefectural government, but were told that taxpayer money cannot be used to resolve private disputes.
"We worked in harsh conditions at the strong urging of the expo organizers and the prefectural government. It's infuriating that they dismiss it as a private matter despite it being a national project," the group's representative said.
The expo is being held between April 13 and Oct. 13.