Japan Market Watch, member stories, event recaps, and strategic insights.
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai closed its doors in October with 29 million visitors and an economic impact of up to JPY 3.6 trillion. For companies considering entry into the Japanese market, the event opens a narrow window: Kansai Region today commands an economy on the scale of Sweden, Belgium or Poland – at 30-50% lower operating costs than Tokyo. This analysis introduces the key Expo figures, sets them against the legacy of Expo 1970 (after which Kansai lost ground rather than gaining it), and spells out what would need to be done to make the outcome different this time.
After nearly fifty years, the business environment between Prague and Tokyo is set for a fundamental modernization. In March 2026, an agreement on the principles of a new double taxation avoidance treaty was reached. For Czech exporters, investors, and subsidiaries of Japanese corporate giants alike, this marks the end of an era of rules from 1977 that had long ceased to reflect the realities of the digital economy and global supply chains.
The Czech Pavilion at the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka has received the Silver Award from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) for architecture in the category of small and medium-sized pavilions up to 1,500 m². At the very end of the world exhibition, it thus earned its fourth major recognition — following the gold medal in the People’s Choice category and the silver award for Best Mascot in the World Expolympics competition, as well as the European Union’s award for exceptional hospitality. This marks the best placement in the architecture category in 55, or respectively 67, years.
The gates of the World Expo will close on Monday, October 13, 2025. Over the past almost six months, they have welcomed over 28 million visitors. The Czech Pavilion welcomed its 1.5 millionth visitor on Friday, October 10. The visitor was a three-year-old Japanese boy with his mother. On average, the Czech Pavilion now receives 12 to 14 thousand visitors daily, while the numbers reach up to 240 thousand for the entire exhibition grounds. EXPO 2025 enjoys considerable popularity among the Japanese, who make up as much as 95 percent of the visitors. All visitor slots have been completely sold out for the last few weeks.
As the gates of EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai gradually close, one of the most significant side events titled "Business after EXPO" took place inside the Czech Pavilion, widely praised for its architectural uniqueness and technological sophistication. This conference was not merely a recap of the past months but a strategic platform for discussing how to transform the temporary energy of a world exposition into lasting economic and cultural value. The gathering of key figures from government, diplomacy, and the private sector made it clear that the Czech footprint in Japan does not end with the pavilion's dismantling. It is entering a new, institutionalized phase.
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