Osaka Expo to go ahead as scheduled despite Noto quake, government says

Japan has no intention to change its plan to host the 2025 World Exposition in the city of Osaka, regardless of how the powerful New Year’s Day earthquake could disrupt the supply of construction materials, the top government spokesman said Monday.

Yoshimasa Hayashi’s remarks came days after economic security minister Sanae Takaichi said she had urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to push back the event to prioritize reconstruction from the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi said the industry ministry in charge of the expo has claimed that procuring the required building materials for the event will not impede reconstruction on the peninsula.

Hayashi also said at a regular press conference that Takaichi’s request to Kishida was not a “conflicting opinion within the Cabinet,” as her suggestion was in line with the government’s position of not hindering reconstruction in the disaster-hit areas.

Even before the magnitude 7.6 earthquake, concerns had arisen that the expo, slated to be held on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, could not take place as planned amid delayed preparations due largely to ballooning construction and other costs.