A planning committee for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka held its first meeting Friday afternoon, with members emphasizing that the event should be a collaborative effort involving the broader Kansai region and an occasion to showcase Japan's cutting-edge technologies.
Many committee members — composed of government officials, executives from private firms and academics — criticized the nation's Tokyo-based centralization and touted the expo as an way to break the trend. They stressed that not just Osaka but also neighboring prefectures in western Japan should play active roles in jointly hosting the event.
"As a symbol of cooperation within the Kansai region, I hope regions that wish to do so would be ... the expo's satellite locations," said Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido, who represents a coalition of neighboring prefectures, during the meeting at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo.