Proceeds from the 2005 Aichi World Expo are likely to exceed 10 billion yen, organizers of the six-month event said Monday.
According to Toshio Nakamura, who headed the secretariat of the expo association, the figure is higher than earlier projections of 4.5 billion yen to 7.5 billion yen, largely due to earnings from sales of logo toys after the Sept. 25 end of the expo.
The association added that lower-than-expected teardown costs at the expo site also contributed to the robust figure, adding that the money would be used for projects recommended by a panel of experts that is discussing how to use the proceeds in ways appropriate for the expo's main theme of coexisting with nature.
"Before the expo opened, I was hoping that we'd make even just a tiny bit of profit," Nakamura said at a news conference, expressing satisfaction with the solid numbers.
Meanwhile, the association announced the same day that on March 19, it will start selling new stuffed toys and pins of the expo's main characters at department stores in the city of Osaka, and in Mie and Aichi prefectures.
The Aichi World Expo, which ran from March to September of last year, drew 22 million visitors, about 7 million more than initially forecast.
