Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru visited the Japan Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo venue in Osaka on January 19 to observe the progress of the event.

In regard to advance ticket sales plateauing at half of its goal, Ishiba said that the World Expo is not well advertised outside of the Kansai region in western Japan.

S/ Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru/ It’s true of a lot of expos, but at first tickets don’t sell well. Visitors tend to increase at the tail end, so I am not worried at all.

During his visit to Osaka, Ishiba met with Osaka Governor and Japan Innovation Party leader Yoshimura Hirofumi.

The visit to Osaka’s World Expo venue comes as Ishiba positions himself to work with the Innovation Party that has been putting its strength into the world expo.

For the prime minister’s minority government, working with opposition parties to pass the next fiscal year’s budget proposal is necessary.