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The Mainichi
18 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Inbound tourists abandoning luggage amid Osaka Expo trips causes disposal problems
OSAKA -- Suitcases believed to have been abandoned mainly by foreign travelers are piling up across this city as it hosts Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, putting pressure on local accommodation providers as to how to respond. Hotels and other lodgings are facing unexpectedly large hurdles in getting guests to properly dispose of their oversized garbage, with little progress thus far. A 46-year-old man who operates a private lodging in the city was beyond outraged. "What am I supposed to do?" he complained in exasperation. On April 21, a week after the Expo began, two men from China stayed at his facility for five nights. On the first day, they each brought two suitcases. Possibly due to heavy souvenir shopping during their visit, the number of suitcases increased with each passing day, reaching a total of nine by the end of their stay. Just after the two left with their large haul, the operator looked outside and saw them attempting to abandon three of the suitcases in the nearby bicycle parking area. Lodging operators fed up with time-consuming tasks In the city of Osaka, items over 30 centimeters wide are considered oversized waste, and cannot be discarded as household garbage. The lodging operator rushed over and warned the two guests, "Leaving these here constitutes illegal dumping, which is a crime. Please dispose of them yourselves." The tourists defiantly responded, "Then what are we supposed to do?" After a prolonged back-and-forth, the operator contacted acquaintances for advice, and referred the tourists to a recycling service. The two then carried away their suitcases. The operator expressed his frustration, saying, "If this kind of thing keeps happening, it's going to cause a lot of extra work. But since it comes down to individual's manners, I can't come up with a good solution." According to estimates from the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, the number of inbound tourists visiting the city reached a record high of approximately 1.547 million in April 2025. The Osaka Prefectural Government predicts about 3.5 million of the 28.2 million expected Expo visitors through October to be from abroad. Partly due to the boost from Expo 2025, tourism demand has rapidly recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Areas popular with backpackers from abroad, such as Osaka's Nishinari Ward and the Minami entertainment district, have seen a concentration of private lodgings and budget accommodations. This is likely why abandoned suitcases continue to appear frequently on nearby streets. While working on this story, this Mainichi Shimbun reporter saw multiple large suitcases left on the roadside. They were often placed together with household garbage at their collection areas, suggesting that people may not have even known these items qualify as oversized waste. Unwanted suitcases left behind An accommodation industry insider remarked, "Many tourists from overseas intentionally bring old baggage with the plan of replacing it, and discard unnecessary bags after buying new ones in Japan." Similar cases occurred before the coronavirus pandemic, when the "bakugai" (explosive purchasing) phenomenon by Chinese tourists gained attention. Yasuhiro Asada, president of Hotel Toyo in Nishinari Ward, noted, "Compared to those days, we've seen fewer cases recently, but even now we find suitcases abandoned in rooms or corridors about once a month." Since some of the luggage could simply be lost items, Hotel Toyo stores them for three months. If no one claims them, the hotel has to dispose of them. Asada noted, "When (suitcases are) left behind, it is difficult to secure storage space and transport them, not to mention the cost. I urge them to properly consult us first." Around a decade ago, Hotel Toyo began offering guests a suitcase disposal service, charging 500 yen (about $3.50) per item. Once enough suitcases accumulate, hotel staff deliver them to a disposal company. The city of Osaka spends public resources to dispose of suitcases left on the street. In fiscal 2023, this amounted to some 110 million yen (around $765,000). One city official voiced frustration, saying, "It is difficult to determine whether something was lost or illegally dumped, and because of the possibility of hazardous materials, cooperation from the police and other authorities is required. Disposal is extremely time-consuming." Properly discarding suitcases as oversized garbage requires individuals to follow official procedures, but for inbound tourists, some circumstances mean doing this is not realistically possible. Bulky garbage pickup intended for residents According to the Environment Bureau of the Osaka Municipal Government, residents can apply in advance and pay a fee of 200 yen (approx. $1.40) per suitcase to have it collected as oversized waste. Yet, the application requires an Osaka residential address, meaning tourists from elsewhere cannot utilize this service. Regarding the system being designed for residents, a municipal official admitted, "The only way is to find a collection agency on their own, but it is unlikely to get picked up on the same day. We didn't expect people to be disposing of their suitcases during a trip in the first place." At Kansai International Airport, which sees some 19 million foreign visitors a year, a service to collect reusable suitcases started in 2018 for free. A source close to the municipal government noted, "Encouraging the use of private services like this would be the next best thing." In response to both the Expo and the surge in inbound tourism, Japan faces the task of improving tourist etiquette and overtourism measures in bustling cities.
The Mainichi
a day ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Local gov'ts in Japan providing 'rice aid' in vouchers, real grain, amid high prices
TOKYO -- Local governments in Japan are carrying out "rice aid" programs for residents amid soaring rice prices, mostly using national subsidies designated to address rising costs as resources. The Hokkaido Prefectural Government will hand out vouchers or digital coupons worth 5,240 yen (about $36) to purchase rice and milk, or distribute 5.5 kilograms of locally produced rice to each of some 390,000 households with children. The prefecture is accepting applications until the end of June. The city of Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture will hand out 5 kg of Japanese rice each to all children aged up to 18 in the city (roughly 12,500), as well as coupons worth 8,000 yen (about $56) that can be used at local shops in the city. The city of Fukui will distribute 5,000-yen (approx. $35) vouchers for locally grown rice to some 24,000 families with children. The amount will be increased to 8,000 yen for single-parent households. The Hitachi Municipal Government in Ibaraki Prefecture will send out 4,400-yen (about $31) rice certificates to around 11,000 families with children. The Osaka Prefectural Government has been carrying out a program to provide children aged 18 and younger and pregnant women with digital coupons or food items worth 7,000 yen (roughly $49). The prefecture announced in early June that the age bracket will be expanded to include those aged 19 to 22. Meanwhile, some municipal governments include all residents and households for aid programs. The city of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture will distribute rice certificates to all 26,000 households in the city. The amount ranges depending on the number of household members: those with one to three members will receive certificates worth 2,200 yen (approx. $15) and those with four or more 3,080 yen (about $21). The city plans to send them out around late August. The Toki Municipal Government in Gifu Prefecture will send out 4,400-yen rice vouchers per household to all of the city's roughly 24,700 households, while Ehime Prefecture's city of Imabari will hand out rice certificates worth 2,200 yen each to the city's approximately 147,000 residents. Many of the local governments are asking their residents not to resell these vouchers online.
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
Okamoto Tarō: Creating New Human Values for a Troubled Age
The artist Okamoto Tarō (1911–96) is best known for Tower of the Sun , a 70-meter structure at the heart of the 1970 Osaka Expo site. Both sculpture and building, complete with interior space, the tower was an almost mystical presence, looming over the exposition like a great masked figure or sacred idol. Tower of the Sun , symbol of the 1970 Osaka Expo. (© Jiji) The tower's interior depicted the evolution of life from ancient times in ways that resist narrow categorization. Following multiple rounds of restoration, it is open today to the public. Widely recognized to this day as a symbol of the age in which the 1970 Expo was held, the tower remains significant for a variety of reasons. The Osaka Prefectural Government, which manages the tower, released a comprehensive assessment of the structure in November 2024, hoping to secure its recognition as an Important Cultural Property. The gigantic Face of the Sun , which was attached to the front of Tower of the Sun . Okamoto Tarō is seen working in the center. (© Jiji) Myth of Tomorrow , another legendary work by Okamoto, was painted in 1969 for a hotel lobby in Mexico but went missing after the hotel's bankruptcy. Rediscovered in 2003, it was installed in Tokyo's Shibuya Station in 2008. Some 5.5 meters high and 30 meters long, the work transcends classification as a painting with its sheer, overpowering scale. Myth of Tomorrow is displayed in the walkway connecting the JR and Keiō Inokashira lines at Shibuya Station. (© Jiji) Myth of Tomorrow is a mysterious work. It addresses grave themes, showing the Japanese tuna fishing boat that was contaminated by nuclear fallout from a thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll in 1954 beset by skeletal shapes symbolizing invisible, powerful energies of human creation. But its style has a manga-like lightness, and the work's overall perspective seems to airily rise above reality. Okamoto Tarō was never tied to one space or time. He transcends the now—and challenges us to join him. Following the 1970 Osaka Expo, he appeared in television commercials and on variety programs and was featured in news magazines and other media, constantly remolding existing values and reiterating his popular catchphrase: 'Art is an explosion.' These words were often understood as referring to uncomplicated art that ruptures the world with visceral directness, but in fact they were a broader call to arms reflecting Okamoto's belief that only art can change reality. Despite passing away in 1996 at the age of 84, Okamoto still attracts legions of fans. Why is this? Capturing the Antithetical in Artistic 1930s Paris Okamoto Tarō was born in 1911 to the successful cartoonist Okamoto Ippei and poet and author Okamoto Kanoko. Novelist and Nobel laureate Kawabata Yasunari once referred to this unusually artistic household as the 'Holy Family.' At school, Tarō argued with teachers as an adult might, causing friction that forced him to change schools multiple times. After graduating from Keiō Futsūbu School in 1929, he entered the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts). He left the school later that year, however, after the Asahi Shimbun newspaper assigned his father to cover the London Naval Treaty of 1930. The Okamoto family set out from Kobe together, but while his parents went on to London, Tarō disembarked at Paris, resolving to live like a local to realize his artistic goals. Instead of joining the Japanese expat artistic community in Paris, Okamoto studied at a suburban lycée, learning the French language, culture, and way of life. He frequented local art galleries and eventually studied philosophy and art at the Sorbonne. During his time in France, Okamoto would mingle with avant-garde artists like Picasso, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Ernst, Giacometti, and Man Ray, as well as thinkers like André Breton, prophet of surrealism, and Georges Bataille, who contemplated human existence through the lenses of death, violence, and eroticism. He experienced the cutting edge of abstract art and surrealism, concepts at the core of twentieth century art, in a milieu where debate raged over how to truly live, deeply influencing the subsequent course of modern French philosophy. As an artist, Okamoto endeavored to produce paintings where real and abstract elements coexisted in contradiction. After World War II, he became a proponent of 'Polarism,' a movement that sought to express rationality and irrationality in antithesis on a single canvas. Many of his works from this period place extremes in opposition, defying rational dissection much as human beings do. Ethnology as a Handle on Human Existence Visiting the Musée de l'Homme, opened at the former site of the 1937 World's Fair in Paris, 26-year-old Okamoto was deeply moved by the masks and idols on display, which had a vivid sense of presence rooted in the fundamentals of human life and belief. He began studying under the anthropologist Marcel Mauss at the Sorbonne to deepen his understanding of ethnography. Decades later, at the 1970 Osaka Expo, Okamoto created and used a subterranean exhibition space beneath Tower of the Sun to display his work Underground Sun , surrounded by countless statues and masks collected by scholars from around the world under Okamoto's guidance. These were later transferred to the National Museum of Ethnology, established seven years after the Expo. Okamoto Tarō on September 4, 1969, surrounded by masks and other folk art gathered for display at the 1970 Osaka Expo. (© Kyōdō) The interior of Tower of the Sun , symbol of Expo '70, has been open to the public again since 2018. Also on display is a re-creation of Underground Sun , which has been missing since the Expo. (© Jiji) After leaving for Paris at the age of 19, Okamoto made the occasional brief visit home and was conscripted into military service during the war, but did not permanently resettle in Japan until 1946, when he was 35. An un-Japanese life—a childhood in a home environment that celebrated artistic excellence and years lived amid the flourishing art scene of Paris in the 1930s—set him on a unique postwar path to transcend reality in Japan. The Meaning of the Avant-Garde in Japan Okamoto's philosophical and ethnographic pursuit of the meaning of human existence eventually led him to conclude that he would always be a foreigner in Europe, and would never produce art of substance unless he accepted Japan, where his roots lay, as his battleground. In 1940, as the war approached Paris, he boarded a ship for Japan for the last time. After arriving in Japan, Okamoto won awards for works produced in Europe, some shown at the 1941 Nika Exhibition and others exhibited independently. But the following year, at 31, he was drafted into the army and sent to China, where he spent over four years on the battlefield. When Okamoto finally returned to Japan in June 1946, he learned that his entire oeuvre to date had been destroyed, along with his family home, in the firebombing of Tokyo. He was thus free to reinvent himself as a fiercely independent Japanese artist, and he began charting a postwar course that sought to connect art with society and life amid the complex contradictions faced by modern Japan. Okamoto challenged Japan's conservative art establishment. He formed an avant-garde artistic movement called the Yoru no Kai (Night Society) with literary scholar Hanada Kiyoteru and others in 1948. Eventually, however, Okamoto shifted his focus from searching for a new art to developing a new art within society. In 1954, he established the Gendai Geijutsu Kenkyūjo (Institute of Esthetic Research) at his home and studio (now the Tarō Okamoto Memorial Museum), inviting artists, designers, architects, and others there to collaborate. The same year, he published the book Konnichi no geijutsu (Art Today), in which he asserted the need for artists to create new values relevant to people facing the many issues of modern society, including pollution, the Cold War, and the contempt for humanity accompanying economic growth. He expanded his activities to include public art, design, architecture, film, performance, and criticism, eventually coming to describe his occupation simply as 'Human.' New Traditions Linking Ethnology and Art The pursuit of Japanese tradition was Okamoto's driving force in the postwar period. In his 'Essay on Jōmon Earthenware: A Dialogue with a Fourth Dimension,' published in 1952, he reconsidered earthenware from the Jōmon period (ca. 10,000 BC–300 BC) discovered across the Japanese archipelago, claiming it had a beauty with no counterpart elsewhere in the world. Conventional accounts of Japanese art saw value in elements introduced alongside Buddhism, such as wabi-sabi and an emphasis on harmony, or modern Western aesthetics. But Okamoto believed that Japanese art was founded on dynamic Jōmon beauty, which destroyed balance with its fourth-dimensional irrationality. It was a startling discovery in the deep past of innovation that overturned old values, just as the art of prewar Paris did. Okamoto believed that Jōmon tendencies could still be seen in Japanese areas such as Tōhoku, Hokkaidō, and Okinawa. Armed with his knowledge of ethnology, he traveled the country studying, photographing, and writing about folk customs from his artist's perspective. For many years, he continued to publish his findings to share these 'new traditions' with wider society. He believed that the power of creativity is omnipresent in our lives: anyone can lead a more fulfilling life by adopting an artist's perspective or behavior into their everyday routines and resolving to express themselves and champion their personal values. 'Art is an Explosion' and 'Eyes Flying Through Space' This is the line of thought that led Okamoto to create Tower of the Sun and Myth of Tomorrow . In describing the essence of art, he used the phrase 'eyes flying through space'—in short, a perspective outside the reality-defining frameworks of human beings and our world that escapes into space. Artists work with an 'other,' be it paint and canvas, stone, or clay. But as they become absorbed in creation, they irrationally become one with that other. This is the true sense in which 'Art is an explosion!' When a work is completed, however, it rationally becomes an other again. Through art, comprising self and other, we have the potential to move beyond humanity and the world, shatter those frameworks, and change values at their foundations. Here is revealed the enduring, universal postmortem appeal, in our cramped and claustrophobic modern age, of Okamoto Tarō's art. Tower of the Sun . (© Jiji) (Originally written in Japanese and published on April 8, 2025. Banner image: Portrait of Okamoto Tarō. © Jiji.)
The Mainichi
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Osaka Gov. wants 1970 Osaka Expo symbol Tower of the Sun listed as World Heritage
OSAKA -- Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs on May 16 recommended to the education and culture minister that the Tower of the Sun, a symbol of the 1970 Osaka Expo that embodied the design of famed artist Taro Okamoto, be designated an important cultural property. The approximately 70-meter-tall tower, located in the Osaka Prefecture city of Suita, combines ferroconcrete and steel-frame structures, with scholars and architects infusing the cutting-edge technology of the time. Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters on May 16 about the anticipated designation, "It is of great significance that the Tower of the Sun, a symbol of the Osaka Expo in 1970, will be designated an important cultural property. We'd like to aim for the tower to be listed as a World Heritage site next." While the Tower of the Sun had initially been scheduled to be dismantled after the Expo, formally the Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970, requests from local residents and others led to a decision to preserve the monument. Following seismic reinforcement work, the Osaka Prefectural Government has opened the tower's inside to the public since 2018. The prefecture began academic surveys by experts in 2021 with the aim of having the tower designated an important cultural asset. Regarding the ongoing Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Yoshimura remarked, "I was reminded once again that we are carrying out a project of extreme significance." As discussions are underway regarding the preservation and utilization of the Grand Ring, a symbol of the current Expo, after the event, the governor enthused, "The Tower of the Sun, which had been slated to be taken down, is now set to be designated an important cultural property. The Grand Ring has also been appreciated by many people as an amazing piece of architecture. I'd like to pursue the possibility of preserving part of it in its current form." Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, released a comment on May 16 regarding the likely designation, stating, "It will be an event that symbolizes the (1970) Osaka Expo, which still lives on in the memory of so many people, and I think it's wonderful." The Tower of the Sun was designated a national registered tangible cultural property in 2020. In recommending the tower to the culture minister for the designation, the Council for Cultural Affairs highly rated the structure, stating, "It is valuable as a legacy symbolizing Japan in its high economic growth period" that spanned from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s.
South China Morning Post
06-03-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Plea for women's toilets at Japan's Osaka Expo building site: ‘risk of bladder rupture'
Japan 's Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai bills itself as the 'People's Living Lab; A laboratory for a future society' and challenges the world to imagine a more sustainable future. Advertisement But news reports seem to suggest it is not ensuring a sustainable present for the women working on its construction site, with an employee's toilet plea unanswered. Writing on the Osaka Prefectural Government website, the construction worker appealed for women's restrooms to be installed at the site of the expo, set to open on April 13, The Mainichi newspaper reported. But whether management has responded remains unclear. A comment attributed to a 'woman working inside [an Expo] pavilion' was submitted on December 6 and posted on the website on January 31. Advertisement The user stated: 'There are only men's restrooms on site, with no facilities for women ... I can only use the restroom at 7am when I arrive at the railway station, and around 6pm after work when I return.'
