The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition aims to attract 28.2 million visitors to cover the ballooning costs, which have nearly doubled to 235 billion yen ($1.6 billion) for construction and 116 billion yen for operations.
As of Oct. 6, only half of the targeted 14 million advance tickets had been sold. While Sunday marked six months until the grand opening, the cancellation of flying taxis, once touted as a key attraction, further dampened the event's enthusiasm.
"We hope to earn a profit that can be used for a future expo," said Masakazu Tokura, head of the expo association and chairman of Japan's largest business lobby Keidanren.
Construction of country pavilions is lagging, with only one exterior completed so far. The expo, set to run from Apr. 13 to Oct. 13 on Yumeshima, a man-made island in Osaka Bay, will feature attractions such as an artificial beating heart made of iPS cells and a Martian rock found in Antarctica.
