Press Conference by Minister Muto (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

9:41 to 9:47 a.m.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
In front of the Cabinet Room, 2nd floor, National Diet Building

Opening Remarks

Special AEM-METI Consultation

This evening, the Special ASEAN Economic Ministers-Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (AEM-METI) Consultation will be held online, in which I will participate.

Amid growing uncertainty in the global economy, including uncertain issues concerning U.S. tariff measures, it is important to enhance cooperation with ASEAN, which has built strong relationships of trust with Japan. In the meeting, I would like to reaffirm our support for the rules-based trade system and the importance of enhancing cooperation for artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation vehicles as keys to industrial competitiveness for the future.

Question-and-Answer Session

Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan

Q: Let me ask you about Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai. Sales of admission tickets are increasing, and I would like you to give us your present outlook for the profitability of the world exposition. Also, could you tell us about how you will attract visitors to the venue during the coming rainy season and during the hot summer season?

A: The number of tickets sold has reached around 12 million. In a visitor questionnaire survey conducted by the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, about 80 percent of respondents answered that they would like to revisit the venue and thus the Expo is being highly evaluated by the public.

However, in order to ultimately achieve profitability, approximately 18 million tickets will need to be sold. To this end, it may be necessary to implement more measures to further increase the number of visitors. Accordingly, we will devise venue management measures with a focus on opening hours and other items. Also, while continuing to make daily improvements, we will work to boost the satisfaction of visitors. For the coming rainy season, we are planning to implement enough measures to deal with rainy weather, including supplying many forms of rain gear. While we hope that the attractiveness of the Expo will be continuously communicated through mass media and social media due to that large amount of positive reports and information from the Expo, we will continue to make our efforts to attract even more visitors to the venue.