Latest news with #the2025WorldExposition
Kyodo News
28-04-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Ticket sales for Osaka expo top 10 mil., most sold in advance
KYODO NEWS - 7 hours ago - 19:20 | Japan, Expo, All Admission ticket sales for the World Exposition in Osaka topped 10 million in about two weeks after its opening on April 13, organizers said Monday, with most of them sold in advance. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is aiming to sell 23 million tickets for the six-month expo, hoping to use the admissions to cover the event's running costs. A total of about 10.41 million tickets were sold as of Friday, of which 9.69 million were advance-sale and 717,000 were sold after the opening, according to the association. Sales of advance tickets have fallen short of the 14 million target. Jun Takashina, a deputy secretary general at the association, said sales of season passes, which allow attendees to visit multiple times, are increasing thanks to positive word-of-mouth from visitors. Related coverage: "Flying car" demos at Osaka Expo halted as part falls mid-flight World Expo in Osaka tops 1 mil. visitors in first 13 days
Kyodo News
28-04-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Ticket sales for Osaka expo top 10 mil., most sold in advance
KYODO NEWS - 16 minutes ago - 19:20 | Japan, Expo, All Admission ticket sales for the World Exposition in Osaka topped 10 million in about two weeks after its opening on April 13, organizers said Monday, with most of them sold in advance. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition is aiming to sell 23 million tickets for the six-month expo, hoping to use the admissions to cover the event's running costs. A total of about 10.41 million tickets were sold as of Friday, of which 9.69 million were advance-sale and 717,000 were sold after the opening, according to the association. Sales of advance tickets have fallen short of the 14 million target. Jun Takashina, a deputy secretary general at the association, said sales of season passes, which allow attendees to visit multiple times, are increasing thanks to positive word-of-mouth from visitors. Related coverage: "Flying car" demos at Osaka Expo halted as part falls mid-flight World Expo in Osaka tops 1 mil. visitors in first 13 days
Asahi Shimbun
22-04-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Osaka Expo attendance falls short of opening week estimates
The Osaka Kansai Expo is off to a sluggish start in its first week after daily visitor numbers fell short of initial targets. According to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, a total of 524,937 people attended the world's fair during the first seven days, beginning April 13. Additionally, nearly 115,000 accredited personnel, including organizers, stakeholders and journalists, also attended the event. The expo, which runs through Oct. 13, aims to attract 28.2 million visitors overall, a goal that requires an average of 150,000 attendees per day. However, no single day so far has yet reached that target. Still, organizers remain hopeful and Jun Takashina, an executive of the association, noted that operations are steadily improving. 'As entrance staff gain more experience, we'll be able to flexibly raise the admission cap per time slot,' he said on April 21. Organizers also revealed that 9.69 million advance tickets were sold prior to opening day. With additional sales expected—particularly from school trips—the total could rise to 12 million. However, this figure still falls short of the initial goal of 14 million presale tickets.
Yomiuri Shimbun
22-04-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
2025 Expo Osaka: Nonsmoking Rule Not Being Observed at Expo Site; Contradicts Fair's Themes of Life, Health
The Yomiuri Shimbun People related to a foreign pavilion smoke at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo site in Konohana Ward, Osaka, on April 13. OSAKA — The nonsmoking rule is not being followed consistently at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo site. Some people have been seen smoking near ashtrays placed outside certain pavilions. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which has banned smoking at the site as the Expo is centered around the theme of life, is struggling to find ways to handle the issue. A red ashtray was placed discreetly in the shadow behind one foreign pavilion. Four men wearing access passes around their necks began to smoke while chatting on Friday morning. Another ashtray was also found near a different foreign pavilion. As the Expo promotes the themes of life and health, the association has totally banned smoking at the Expo site on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka, requiring both visitors and pavilion operators to adhere to the rule. Two smoking areas have been set up outside the East Gate, which is connected to Yumeshima Station on Osaka Metro Co.'s Chuo Line. However, it takes time to go back and forth between these areas and inside the venue. 'I understand it's the rule, but it's still quite inconvenient,' a 49-year-old man who works at a merchandise store in the venue said. 'I can understand why some people secretly smoke.' Smoking in the venue poses the risk of causing an accident. Yumeshima is built on reclaimed land, the western part of which is made up of incinerated ash from waste materials that could emit methane gas. A spark ignited methane gas while bathrooms were being constructed on the west side of the venue last year, causing an explosion. Explosive levels of gas were detected in the western area during the rehearsal conducted just prior to the Expo's opening. Some within the association are proposing the creation of smoking areas in safe places that are strictly separated from nonsmoking areas. 'We want to find a way to accommodate both smokers and nonsmokers,' a senior association official said.
Asahi Shimbun
22-04-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
JCP newspaper granted access to Osaka expo after initial rejection
The Grand Ring of the Osaka Kansai Expo, certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest wooden architectural structure (Toshiyuki Hayashi) Organizers of the Osaka Kansai Expo issued a press pass to the official newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party after denying the publication access to preview events. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition granted a one-time pass to the Akahata (red flag) newspaper on April 21. According to the Akahata, the association refused to let the newspaper attend the expo's test run, held from April 4 to 6, as well as a media preview on April 9. The expo association told the publication that the newspaper was not invited to the events, saying that it was following internal guidelines. The Akahata protested this reasoning. However, the organizers decided to give access to the Akahata, citing a precedent set during the 2005 Aichi Expo, where the newspaper had been granted temporary accreditation. During the Osaka Kansai Expo, which runs until Oct. 13, the association will provide the Akahata with a single-use pass for each news conference and media event upon request, rather than granting permanent accreditation. The association also stated that freelance journalists who do not meet its guidelines could still be granted access on a case-by-case basis. The Akahata and the JCP are viewed as critical of the expo. A local JCP assembly member reported the detection of a potentially dangerous concentration of methane gas at the venue on April 6 during the test run, highlighting recurring safety concerns about the event, which is being held at a former landfill site.
