16-05-2025
Subcontractors for Osaka-Kansai Expo pavilions complain of non-payment
OSAKA (TR) – Two subcontractors that worked for a main contractor on overseas pavilions at the Osaka-Kansai Expo are struggling to be paid, reports Mainichi Broadcasting System (May 13).
One of the subcontractors cited by the network is a small-to-medium-sized construction company based in Kansai. It received an order from foreign-affiliated main contractor, whose headquarters are overseas, for the construction of a pavilion.
'As the work got around the midway point to the end, payments suddenly stopped,' an employee of the subcontractor says. 'The payment schedule as dictated in the contract was not followed. Construction was completed without payment being carried out .'
The subcontractor claims that about 40 percent of the contract amount and additional construction costs incurred due to specification changes have not been paid. The total unpaid amount is around 80 million yen.
The subcontractor has repeatedly asked for payment from the main contractor.
'[The person in charge at the main contractor] has been saying that everything will be fine, so don't worry,' the aforementioned employee says. '[He says] he'll transfer the money sometime next week, or even right now. I was hoping that he would do it. But the next week passes, then the week after, then the end of the month, and nothing comes. I don't know when the company will really go under.'
The subcontractor is currently preparing a civil lawsuit against the main contractor to demand payment of unpaid wages. Subcontractors that worked on the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which opened in April, are claiming they were not paid Second subcontractor
They are not alone. Another Kansai-based contractor says that it is still owed over 300 million yen in additional construction costs for two other overseas pavilions.
'They paid us [a part of it] until the construction was completed,' an employee for the second subcontractor says. 'As soon as it was finished, we didn't know [what was going on], so we thought [the non-payment] was on purpose.'
The second company says that they were paid the full amount of the initial contract, but only paid about half of the additional construction costs accrued due to changes in construction methods that occurred along the way. As a result, they have not been able to pay their subcontractors. 'Criticized the quality'
The network visited the office of the Japanese subsidiary of the main contractor.
Regarding the owed money to the first subcontractor, a representative of the main contractor said, 'When the pavilion was handed over, the government [the client] criticized the quality. There were parts that we corrected. As well, there were parts that we decided would not be completed in time and took over the construction. If we offset those costs, there is no contract fee left to pay.'
Regarding the non-payment of additional construction costs to both the first and second subcontractors, the the representative stated, 'It is taking time to investigate. We are not trying to default on the costs, and we have not engaged in any illegal activities.'
Yoshitaka Ito 'Private matter'
On Tuesday morning, Yoshitaka Ito, minister for the Osaka-Kansai Expo, commented over the non-payment issue.
'Contractual issues are basically resolved through discussion between the parties,' Ito said, 'but we are aware that several similar cases have been raised by companies. As a government, we intend to urge participating countries to confirm the facts and take responsible action.'
In response to an inquiry by the first subcontractor, a representative of the association operating the Expo said, 'If the issue was that a participating country had not paid [construction costs] to the main contractor, we could instruct the participating country [to take action], but since this is a private matter, we cannot get involved.'
In response, the first subcontractor said, 'We had hoped that the country, the government, the association, or some other organization would properly listen to our concerns and respond. It is very frustrating. I still think that we shouldn't have gone ahead with the construction at the Expo.'
The motto for the Expo reads, 'Design Future Society for Our Lives.' It seems, however, that sentiment does not apply to the companies that actually built the pavilions.
