The area set aside for foreign pavilions at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture will be increased by 1 hectare, visiting officials from the Paris-based Bureau of International Expositions said Saturday.
A six-member team, led by Bernard Testu, chairman of the BIE executive committee, told a press conference that the Japanese side has agreed to increase the area for foreign pavilions to 10 hectares.
The size of the main site at the Aichi Expo, Kaisho no Mori -- a wooded region in the southern part of Seto -- was initially reduced by 70 hectares to 182 hectares due to strong opposition from environmentalists.
BIE officials expressed concern, however, that the area for foreign pavilions, planned in a park for young people in Nagakute, is smaller than that of previous expositions.
Regarding possible opposition to the expanded foreign pavilion site, Testu said the Japanese promised to continue discussions with civilian groups through a variety of means.
Harumi Sakamoto, secretary general of the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition, said that all questions posed by the BIE officials had been answered and that the visiting members understood the situation.
The BIE officials arrived in Japan on Wednesday to tour and review a revised plan for the upcoming Expo. The officials are expected to report a decision on whether to approve the site to the executive committee on Nov. 15. The committee will then make a report to the general meeting of the BIE to be held in December.