The 2025 World Expo in Osaka attracted 200,000 visitors on Saturday, the largest single-day turnout, according to preliminary data from the event's organizer.
The figure announced by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition on Sunday topped the previous high of 187,449, set on Aug. 30, apparently because people are rushing to visit the Expo ahead of its closing date on Oct. 13.
The association also said Saturday that the cumulative number of visitors, including those related to the Expo project, has reached 20.25 million, the figure corresponding to the year of the event.
At a ceremony to mark the milestone, Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general of the association, said: "The World Expo is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We want as many people as possible to come during the remaining 37 days of the event."
"My perspective has broadened as I encountered future technologies (at the Expo)," said the 20.25 millionth visitor, Haruto Kotani, 22, from the city of Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, who began his career as an information technology engineer this spring. Kotani and two friends who visited the Expo with him received commemorative goods, including pins bearing the words "EXPO 2025."
The association urged possible visitors to come early, warning that reservations may become difficult toward the end of the Expo.
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