A controversy has arisen surrounding a plan to offer free admission to Osaka Prefecture's junior high and high school students to the 2025 Osaka Kansai World Expo. On June 6, Yoshitaka Noda (67), Mayor of Higashiosaka City in Osaka Prefecture, expressed his displeasure at Osaka Prefecture's Board of Education's request for schools to submit responses to a questionnaire directly, stating, "This is a matter that should be handled through each municipality, and isn't it a violation of the rules?" He also pointed out that he had not received the responses from Higashiosaka City's public schools.

Mayor Noda speculated that about 80% of the responses from Higashiosaka City's public schools would be "wish to participate." However, he pointed out that the questionnaire from the Board of Education only offered the options "wish to participate" and "undecided/under consideration," stating, "Isn't it impossible to understand the true situation?" He requested confirmation from Tatsuro Mizuno, the Superintendent of Education for Osaka Prefecture. While Mayor Noda expressed support for the plan itself to offer free admission to children to the World Expo, on the condition that "safety is guaranteed," he demanded that "model courses be presented to ensure that children are not left waiting at pavilions."

Mayor Noda won a fifth term in the Higashiosaka mayoral election last September as a candidate endorsed by Osaka Ishin. He had been elected as an independent candidate for four consecutive terms before that, receiving substantial support from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito Party. Regarding the plan to invite junior high and high school students from the prefecture, Kei Kono, Mayor of Konoshi, also criticized the inappropriate options, stating that Konoshi intends to hold off on school-level participation.

In particular, there has been strong criticism of the questionnaire format, which only offered two options, "wish to participate" and "undecided/under consideration," effectively eliminating the option to decline. Mayor Yamamoto of Konoshi pointed out that "the lack of an option to decline effectively forces participation," raising concerns that the questionnaire was a manipulation designed to increase participation rates as intended by the Board of Education. Osaka Prefecture's Board of Education declined to comment on the questionnaire only offering two options.

The controversy surrounding the World Expo plan in Osaka Prefecture, where Osaka Ishin has a strong base of support, is emerging as a political issue. This controversy appears to have arisen within the political context of Osaka Ishin's strong determination to push forward with the project and the opposition of some local governments. It is expected that controversies related to the World Expo plan will continue in the future.