World Expo 2025 is set to open in Osaka in April. However, with less than a month out, the event continues to be plagued by an overwhelming lack of interest, which local leaders have been trying to fill by forcing kids to attend. Meanwhile, the event’s food prices are raising some netizens’ eyebrows – while drawing defense from others.
Sending kids who’d rather go to Universal Studios
World Expo has been controversial since event planning started in earnest. The logo and mascot for the event drew attention all the way back in 2020, with some saying the figure of Myaku-Myaku looks like something out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.
That marked an inauspicious start to what has turned into a slog to drum up interest in the months-long event. Advance ticket sales have remained low. Interest in attending appears to be plummeting as well. A Jiji poll conducted on March 13th showed only 22% of those surveyed expressed an interest in attending. A more recent Kyodo poll conducted on the 23rd shows 74% remain uninterested.
The low attendance has stoked controversy, as taxpayers in Japan’s Kansai region will be on the hook for the overage if the event can’t cover its costs. That’s only further stoked opposition to the event not seen since the controversial 2020 (eventually 2021) Tokyo Summer Olympics.
To fill the gap, the Expo Committee has worked hard to sell tickets to schools for school field trips. As a result, says Sankei Shimbun, it’s topped 10 million pre-sale tickets -a good number but still well away from the projected 14 million tickets it needs to break even.
Some students online, however, aren’t very happy that their school field trips will be to the World Expo instead of, say, Universal Studios Japan. Others express concerns about the event’s disaster planning as well as the risk of heat stroke. One X post by a user claiming to be a high school student earned 190,000 likes when they said they found the prospect of attending the Expo “frightening.”
3,850 yen for a bowl of soba?
As reported by Livedoor News, some Internet users have been griping over expected food costs once users get inside the Expo. Examples include a 2,000 yen (USD 13.20) bowl of ramen and a 3,850 yen ($25) bowl of “gourmet eki-soba.”
The ramen isn’t necessarily over the top. After all, some high-end ramen shops in Japan are charging that much these days. The soba price, however, has some commenting that the prices are comparable to those at tourist traps like Niseko.
Given rising prices and stagnant wages in Japan, some users say, only foreign tourists will be able to afford food at that price point. (The problem is that foreign tourists don’t seem much interested in attending the Expo either.)
Not everyone’s down with this variant of Expo-bashing, however. An article in Sankei Shimbun counters that food inflation is normal at theme parks and other captive-audience events like the Expo. It also notes that Kura Sushi will be on hand offering food items for between 150 yen and 300 yen. The venue will also be selling bento boxes at affordable prices.
Maneki Shokuhin president Takeda Noritaka, whose company is producing the eki-soba, also criticized people who are knocking the company’s 3,850 yen soba. The dish reportedly includes a number of high-end components, such as Kobe beef and noodles served in a broth with scallops and other ingredients.
“It’s irresponsible to criticize something you haven’t even tasted,” he fumed.
Given this, some experts say the price backlash is just “criticism for criticism’s sake.” In other words, people are piling on the Expo’s issues, whether the criticism is warranted or not.
While that may be the case, it’s also clear that the Expo organizers haven’t given most people, either inside or outside of Japan, a reason to go. Which, given that the event is a few weeks away, is a public relations disaster.
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