Latest news with #HirofumiYoshimura
Japan Times
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Visitors to Osaka Expo likely to exceed 10 million soon
General visitors to the World Expo in Osaka are expected to exceed 10 million on Sunday, which marks the halfway point of the six-month event which began on April 13. As the number of visitors tends to surge when popular events such as firework displays are held, more people may visit the Expo during the upcoming summer vacation season as well as during the event's final months. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is working to reach its target of 22 million visitors, the Osaka Expo's break-even point in terms of operating costs. On Saturday, many people visited the Expo site to watch a performance by the Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team. The Blue Impulse performance was originally scheduled for the Expo's opening day but had to be rescheduled due to bad weather. As of Friday, the highest daily number of visitors has been 185,000, recorded on June 28, when a fireworks event was held. "Many people are really enjoying the Expo," Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture, said. The association expects the Expo to attract a total of 28.2 million visitors. At its board meeting on June 23, the association set 22 million visitors as the break-even point for Expo operating costs. The board showed a policy to aim for at least 130,000 visitors per day on average. But the cumulative number of general visitors stood at some 9.9 million as of Friday, about 45% of the estimated break-even figure, according to preliminary data. During the 18-day period between June 24 and Friday, the number of general visitors topped 130,000 only on four days, apparently due to reasons such as the scorching heat. Meanwhile, the daily number may peak to top 220,000 in the late stages of the Expo. Partly by holding a popular fireworks event every day during the summer holiday period, the association hopes to prevent large crowds from gathering at the Expo venue on specific dates. Sales of Expo admission tickets started to gain momentum after its opening as interest grew due to visitor reviews posted on social media. As of July 4, total ticket sales, including of advance tickets, reached approximately 15.54 million, exceeding 80% of the 18.4 million needed for the event to break even. The number of tickets sold per week has largely remained above 400,000 recently. "Sales continue to be strong," an association executive said. Still, "sales could decline if visitor satisfaction drops," the official warned. "We will make further efforts to ensure that sales continue to grow steadily." The association has urged admission ticket holders to make reservations early for entry to the Expo venue. If the number of applicants exceeds the venue's maximum capacity, some may be unable to enter. In principle, visitors are required to reserve a date and time after purchasing admission tickets. However, many ticket holders have yet to make their reservations, according to the association. "A World Expo usually becomes more crowded in the latter half of the period, so we encourage people with tickets to come early," Masakazu Tokura, head of the association, said.
Time Out
11-07-2025
- Time Out
The ‘beer garden' at Expo 2025 is extending its evening opening hours
In a bid to encourage Expo 2025 visitors to avoid the summer heat and visit the mega-event at night, Osaka's governor Hirofumi Yoshimura announced on July 8 that the opening hours of the food and drink retailers at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion will extend their evening hours by 30 minutes from late July, staying open until 9.30pm. The popular outdoor terrace area between the pavilion and the Grand Ring is lit up with lanterns and shaded with large parasols, effectively making it a beer garden and a go-to spot for enjoying a cool pint at the Expo. Once the new opening hours take effect, the alfresco area will be accessible until 9.45pm. This announcement follows previous calls by the governor in May, urging the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition to extend restaurant hours until just before 10pm. However, that proposal faced resistance due to concerns about securing transportation for Expo staff after closing time.
Japan Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka
Nippon Ishin no Kai faces a make-or-break situation in its birthplace of Osaka Prefecture in the upcoming House of Councilors election, as the opposition party struggles with dwindling support. Komeito, the junior partner in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition, is also in a crucial fight in the prefectural constituency in the July 20 election for the upper chamber of parliament, as it is facing pressure from an upstart political party. Nippon Ishin, Komeito and the Liberal Democratic Party, the dominant partner in the ruling bloc, have won the four seats of the constituency in the past three Upper House races, but the landscape could be set to change in the upcoming poll. "All (other) political parties are headquartered in Tokyo," Nippon Ishin chief and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said in his first stump speech of the Upper House election campaigning on Thursday. "Nippon Ishin is the only party that truly thinks about regional areas." Speaking in the Namba district, one of the busiest areas of the city of Osaka, Yoshimura touted his party's accomplishments in administrative and fiscal reform in the Osaka prefectural and city governments, while calling for voters' support. The audience was not as engaged as it had been in past elections, however, and one local assembly member from the party admitted that "the crowd is small." Nippon Ishin has fielded two former Osaka city assembly members in the Upper House race, Rie Sasaki and Futoshi Okazaki. The party has won two seats in Osaka at every Upper House poll since 2016. But its support ratings have been falling, with its proportional representation vote tally in the prefecture falling by about 560,000 at last year's election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. The party is also struggling with internal turmoil, with a sitting Upper House lawmaker and an Osaka city assembly member both leaving Nippon Ishin after failing to secure its backing for the upcoming election. Sasaki and Okazaki jointly attended a rally in the Osaka city of Sakai on Thursday night, where they asked the more than 200 supporters in attendance to "divide neatly" their votes between the two candidates. The call came after Nippon Ishin apparently determined that securing two seats would be difficult if votes are concentrated on one candidate. About 300 local assembly members and local government heads in Osaka are supporting the campaigning of Sasaki and Okazaki. They have split into two teams to engage in campaign activities for each candidate. Sasaki and Okazaki spend the day campaigning separately but jointly attend night rallies. They ask supporters to split between the two the votes of their family members and acquaintances. Yoshimura has set a target of Nippon Ishin winning at least six seats in the Upper House race. With the party struggling to garner support, a senior party official suggested that this goal "can't be achieved without taking two (seats) in Osaka." "If the party drops a seat, it may affect the fate of the leader," another Nippon Ishin official said. Other roots in Osaka Osaka is a special place for Komeito. A candidate fielded by its main support group, the lay Buddhist group Soka Gakkai, in the prefectural constituency won a seat in the 1956 Upper House election, marking its debut in national politics. The 1956 campaign was led by the late Daisaku Ikeda, who later became Sokka Gakkai's leader. Komeito has since held onto the Osaka constituency seat. But in last year's Lower House election, Komeito failed to defend all four of its constituency seats in the prefecture. The party has struggled to gather votes due to Soka Gakkai's aging membership. "I don't know what will happen now," an Osaka city prefectural assembly member said. Hisatake Sugi, who is seeking his third term in the Upper House, said while speaking in a stump speech in front of a major shopping complex in the city of Osaka on Thursday that he had paved the way for a reduced consumption tax rate for certain goods. The LDP, Komeito and Nippon Ishin view Sanseito as a threat to their seats. The upstart party has set Osaka as a key opportunity for gains. Its leader, Sohei Kamiya, held speeches in the prefecture on Friday and Saturday. Kamiya, formerly a city assembly member from the Osaka city of Suita, held a speech in the same place where Yoshimura had delivered his first stump speech of the campaigning, telling voters that "Sanseito has its roots in Osaka." The Democratic Party for the People is also looking to grab an Osaka seat. Its chief, Yuichiro Tamaki, has spoken on multiple days in the prefecture. As Sanseito and the DPP are adept in campaigning on social media, it is difficult to gauge the level of support for their respective candidates, Chisato Miyade and Rio Watanabe. Rei Hashiguchi — who was fielded by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which placed sixth in the past two Upper House elections — is hoping to gather the votes of constituents critical of the government. A Komeito official said the party is "in a battle for fourth place with forces that had previously been unlikely to win." A senior Nippon Ishin official also expressed worry, saying the party is "viewed as an established party" and that it must differentiate itself by touting its achievements.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan must reduce reliance on US trade, opposition head says
By Leika Kihara and Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan must diversify trade ties beyond the U.S. market to mitigate risks and focus on partnerships with countries favouring free trade, Hirofumi Yoshimura, co-representative of the opposition Japan Innovation Party, said on Monday. Tokyo should seek a "win-win" situation in trade negotiations, however, tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump show how the U.S. is a country risk for Japan - or a source of uncertainty that could hurt its economy, Yoshimura said. "Japan should expand trade ties with countries that focus on free trade," such as Europe, and leave itself more options to protect its economy, he told Reuters in an interview. "Instead of standing on just one, big pillar like the U.S., Japan should stand on, say, five to 10 smaller pillars. That's a better approach to avoid its roof from falling off." The remarks came as Japan faces the risk of sustained, steep U.S. tariffs after stalled trade talks led to criticism by Trump that Japan was engaging in "unfair" automobile trade. The views of small, opposition parties such as the Japan Innovation Party could gain importance after an upper house election on July 20, where Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faces an uphill battle. Recent media polls including one by the Yomiuri newspaper showed the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito may lose their majority in the upper house - an outcome analysts say could force Ishiba to step down or seek an alliance partner. The LDP-Komeito ruling camp is already a minority coalition in the lower house, forcing Ishiba to seek the cooperation of opposition parties to pass some bills through parliament. Ishiba maintained his hard-line stance on trade talks with Washington in a television programme on Sunday, saying Japan will continue to demand the elimination of U.S. automobile tariffs and "won't make concessions easily." U.S. tariffs would add to woes for Japan's economy, which contracted in the first quarter as consumption took a hit from rising living costs. Yoshimura said Japan must focus on deregulation to revitalise the economy and reforms to rein in its ballooning social welfare costs that are straining its finances. On monetary policy, Yoshimura said the Bank of Japan (BOJ) should continue to phase out its ultra-loose policy but at a slow, cautious pace. "Japan has a huge public debt and relies on debt issuance in guiding policy," he said. "In light of this situation, the BOJ must tread carefully in raising interest rates."
CNA
07-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Japan must reduce reliance on US trade, opposition head says
TOKYO: Japan must diversify trade ties beyond the US market to mitigate risks and focus on partnerships with countries favouring free trade, Hirofumi Yoshimura, co-representative of the opposition Japan Innovation Party, said on Monday (Jul 7). Tokyo should seek a "win-win" situation in trade negotiations, however, tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump show how the US is a country risk for Japan - or a source of uncertainty that could hurt its economy, Yoshimura said. "Japan should expand trade ties with countries that focus on free trade," such as Europe, and leave itself more options to protect its economy, he told Reuters in an interview. "Instead of standing on just one, big pillar like the US, Japan should stand on, say, five to 10 smaller pillars. That's a better approach to avoid its roof from falling off." The remarks came as Japan faces the risk of sustained, steep US tariffs after stalled trade talks led to criticism by Trump that Japan was engaging in "unfair" automobile trade. The views of small, opposition parties such as the Japan Innovation Party could gain importance after an upper house election on Jul 20, where Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faces an uphill battle. Recent media polls including one by the Yomiuri newspaper showed the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito may lose their majority in the upper house - an outcome analysts say could force Ishiba to step down or seek an alliance partner. The LDP-Komeito ruling camp is already a minority coalition in the lower house, forcing Ishiba to seek the cooperation of opposition parties to pass some bills through parliament. Ishiba maintained his hard-line stance on trade talks with Washington in a television programme on Sunday, saying Japan will continue to demand the elimination of US automobile tariffs and "won't make concessions easily". US tariffs would add to woes for Japan's economy, which contracted in the first quarter as consumption took a hit from rising living costs. Yoshimura said Japan must focus on deregulation to revitalise the economy and reforms to rein in its ballooning social welfare costs that are straining its finances. On monetary policy, Yoshimura said the Bank of Japan (BOJ) should continue to phase out its ultra-loose policy but at a slow, cautious pace. "Japan has a huge public debt and relies on debt issuance in guiding policy," he said. "In light of this situation, the BOJ must tread carefully in raising interest rates."
