Nearly 70% of Japanese companies believe that the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka was beneficial to the domestic economy, a survey by research firm Teikoku Databank showed Thursday.
The proportion of companies that cited positive economic impacts from the expo, held from April 13 through Monday, reached 67.5%. In a survey conducted in April before the event's opening, only 43.5% expressed hope for such impacts.
According to the latest survey, 23.4% said that the benefits were greater than expected, while 44.0% said that the benefits matched their expectations.
A combined 32.5% said that the economic benefits did not quite meet or fell short of their expectations.
By region, Kinki had the highest proportion of companies that reported benefits, at 81.3%, followed by Kyushu at 73.9% and Shikoku at 71.0%. Tokai posted the lowest figure, at 54.5%.
"We did not feel any (positive) effects in the Kanto region, and even suffered from shortages of construction materials and their soaring costs," said an employee of a construction firm in Chiba Prefecture.
The online survey was conducted from Oct. 9 to Tuesday. Valid responses were received from 1,058 companies.
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