Argentina has decided to withdraw from the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, becoming the third country that had been due to build its own pavilion to withdraw, Japan’s minister in charge of world expositions said on Friday.
Hanako Jimi gave no reasons for the withdrawal at a news conference, but the country has long struggled with extremely high inflation and President Javier Milley has cut government spending since taking office in December last year.
So far, Mexico and Estonia have decided not to take part in the Expo, which is due to run from April 13 to October 13 next year on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay.
A photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the “Great Ring,” a giant wooden structure symbolizing the site of the World Expo to be held in Osaka in 2025, being test-lit on an artificial island in the western Japanese city on May 21, 2024. (Kyodo News) == Kyodo News
The two countries had planned to build so-called Type A pavilions, where participating countries would design and build their own facilities. The home-built pavilions are considered the centerpiece of the event.
The Japan Association for the 2025 World Expo had advised Argentina to switch to less costly options such as Type C pavilions built by organizers and shared by participants, according to people familiar with the matter.
Another option was a “Type X pavilion” that would be built by organizers and rented out to participants who would then be responsible for the interior and exterior, but talks have stalled due to the country’s financial problems, the people said.
Due to rising material prices and a labor shortage in Japan’s construction industry, the number of countries planning to build A-type pavilions has fallen from an initial 60 to around 50.
The expo has been overshadowed by criticism over soaring costs and concerns over the slow pace of construction of pavilions by international participants.
Also on Friday, scandal-hit Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said it had decided to withdraw from sponsorship of the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, an exhibition run by Osaka Prefecture and City in collaboration with universities and industry to display cutting-edge health and medical technologies.
The company said it would recall the products and focus on investigating the cause of the health problems and, in some cases, deaths that have occurred after people have taken its red yeast rice supplements.
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