Controversy Surrounding the 2025 Osaka Expo's Free Student Invitation Program: Is the Education Board's Survey 'Forced Participation'?

Controversy is brewing over a plan to offer free admission to Osaka Prefecture's elementary, junior high, and high school students to the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. Noda Yoshikazu, the 67-year-old mayor of Higashiosaka City in Osaka Prefecture, expressed his displeasure at the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education's direct request for survey responses from each school during a regular press conference on the 6th. He questioned the appropriateness of the request, stating, "This is a matter that should be handled through each municipality, and isn't it a violation of regulations?" He also pointed out that he had not received the responses from Higashiosaka City public schools from the Prefectural Board of Education.

Mayor Noda speculated that the responses from Higashiosaka City public schools showed approximately 80% expressing a "desire to participate." However, he pointed out that the Prefectural Board of Education's survey only offered the options of "desire" and "undecided/under consideration," questioning whether the true situation could be accurately grasped. He requested that Mizuno Tatsuro, the Osaka Prefectural Education Superintendent, clarify the situation. While Mayor Noda expressed his support for the initiative to offer free admission to children to the Expo, "provided safety is guaranteed," he also requested that a model course be presented to ensure that the invited children "do not have to wait at the pavilions."

Mayor Noda was re-elected for a fifth term in the Higashiosaka mayoral election in September of last year as a candidate endorsed by Osaka Ishin no Kai. During his previous four terms as mayor, he was elected as an independent candidate and received the de facto support of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito. In relation to the initiative to invite elementary, junior high, and high school students in the prefecture, Kono City Mayor Yamamoto Kei also criticized the inappropriateness of the options provided, and Kono City has indicated its intention to refrain from participation at the school level.

In particular, there has been strong criticism of the survey method, which only provided two options: "desire to participate" and "undecided/under consideration," excluding the option to "not participate." Kono City Mayor Yamamoto pointed out that the lack of a "not participate" option effectively made participation mandatory, raising concerns that the survey was manipulated by the Prefectural Board of Education to artificially inflate participation rates. Regarding the survey's limitation to only two options, the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education stated, "We will refrain from commenting."

In Osaka Prefecture, where Osaka Ishin no Kai enjoys a strong base of support, the controversy surrounding the Expo has become a political issue. This controversy appears to stem from the political context of Osaka Ishin no Kai's strong drive to promote the project and the resistance from some local governments. It is expected that controversies related to the Expo will continue in the future.