Osaka-Kansai Expo Does Flip-Flop to Allow Smoking

May 03, 2025 | News On Japan

OSAKA - Plans are underway to install designated smoking areas inside the Expo site for the first time.

The Osaka-Kansai Expo, themed "Designing a Future Society for Life," has so far maintained a strict no-smoking policy across its grounds, with only two designated smoking areas currently located outside the East Gate, near Osaka Metro's Yumeshima Station.

However, according to officials familiar with the matter, the Expo Association now plans to install two additional smoking areas—one inside and one outside the venue near the West Gate, enclosed by partitions and located in open-air spaces. Both are expected to be set up later this month.

The decision comes in response to several incidents of visitors and pavilion staff smoking inside the venue, raising concerns over the environment and public decorum. In addition, some attendees have complained that the current smoking areas are too far from the main event spaces and have requested indoor access.

Officials emphasize that the new smoking areas near the West Gate will be established in locations where no methane gas has been detected, following a gas explosion accident during construction in the same area last year.

Source: ABCTVnews

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