In its efforts to get ready for the 2025 World Expo, Osaka Metro Co. plans to revamp 15 of its subway stations by fiscal 2024 under the banner of creating a "futuristic Osaka," according to officials.
The stations on its Midosuji and Chuo Lines to be revamped include Umeda Station, a major train hub in the northern part of the city, as well as Shin-Osaka Station, which connects to the Tokaido Shinkansen, the officials said.
Umeda Station will feature large digital signage that will show news in multiple languages, while a new observation deck shaped like a flying saucer will be built at Shin-Osaka Station, according to the plans.
But there is opposition to the plans in some corners, with some saying the designs are "going too far."
Ritsumeikan University professor Masahiko Kishi is one of them.
He has collected about 20,000 signatures online and is trying to urge Osaka Metro to rethink the designs.
"We do not think people are against" the renovations, an Osaka Metro spokesman said. "We are open to their opinions."
Osaka Metro, formerly a city-run subway, was privatized in 2018.
