If Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has his way, by 2025, as it prepares to host that year's International Expo, Osaka will have become an international entertainment capital, home to a casino resort, the site of a major electronic car race and a bicycle race that rivals the Tour de France.
At the same time, Osaka will, by then, be home to numerous universities from abroad, as well as large numbers of international schools preparing students for studies at higher education institutes overseas. To help accomplish this, all schools will teach a practical form of English.
This is just part of Hashimoto's recently announced vision for what the region would look like if the city and prefecture are merged. The ambitious plans include public works projects like new roads and a new subway line, and a campaign to push Tokyo to ensure the new linear shinkansen will stop in Osaka. There are also promises of more hospitals and medical centers to develop Osaka into a major center for medical tourism.