Visitors to next year’s world exposition in Japan could find themselves spending a penny in toilets that cost more than £1m to build, with recent construction estimates for restrooms sparking a row over the event’s spiralling costs.
Japanese media reported this week that some of the 40-plus bathrooms being built at the site in Osaka, a port city in the west of the country, will cost as much as ¥200m (£1.05m).
Eight of the expo site’s restrooms will be designed by up-and-coming architects, the minister in charge, Hanako Jimi, said this week, pointing out that the facilities would contain more stalls than a typical public bathroom.
The cost, Jimi said, “isn’t necessarily high considering the scale of the project”.
But her explanation, which was widely reported by the Japanese media this week, has only added to criticism of the expo project’s soaring costs.
The revelation about the toilets, reported in the Asahi and Mainichi newspapers, comes soon after expo organisers said it had moved back its target date for the completion of national pavilions to October this year, citing delays in construction caused by rising material costs and labour shortages.
The “type A” pavilions – where countries showcase their history, culture and technology – were supposed to have been ready by July.
Of the 150 participating countries and regions, about 60 had planned to build their own pavilions but abandoned the projects after they were unable to find Japanese construction firms that could complete the work on budget. As of the end of last year, just 36 countries had committed to building bespoke pavilions, according to Kyodo News.
The lack of enthusiasm has added to criticism of the venture, which is expected to cost up to ¥235bn – nearly double the initial estimate – with the costs shared among the central government, local authorities in Osaka and the private sector.
Organisers and politicians have resisted calls to cancel or postpone the event in the wake of the deadly New Year’s Day earthquake on the Noto peninsula.
There is concern that the expo, which will run from 13 April to 13 October 2025 on the artificial “Dream Island” of Yumeshima, could drive up the cost of materials and place a strain on human resources – both of which are desperately needed in the disaster-hit region on the Japan Sea coast.
The toilets are not the only feature of the 390-hectare site to have attracted criticism. The pavilions and other attractions will be surrounded by the “Ring”, a circular roof featuring walkways that, when completed, will be one of the biggest wooden structures in the world.
The ¥24.4bn roof, however, will be dismantled after the event to allow work to begin on Japan’s first casino, due to open in 2030 – leading one opposition MP to describe it as “one of the biggest wastes of money in the world”, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
The public is divided over the project, which few believe will repeat the success of the expo Osaka hosted in 1970. That event drew more than 60 million visitors and confirmed Japan’s transformation from defeated empire into an economic and industrial powerhouse.
In a Kyodo poll conducted earlier this month, 27% of respondents said next year’s expo should be postponed to prioritise the reconstruction of earthquake-hit communities. A similar proportion said the event should go ahead as planned, while 26.7% said it should be scaled down.
