Kansai-area corporate leaders urged the local business community on Friday to boost efforts to promote Osaka's bid to host the World Expo 2025, and called on Tokyo to be more involved in the process.
Wrapping up a two-day Kansai Economic and Management Summit — a month before an international delegation will visit Osaka to assess its Osaka-Kansai/Japan bid — more than 600 leaders discussed what needs to be done to win the expo, as well as the region's economic future, including tourism promotion efforts and the possibility of a casino resort.
In one session of the business leaders' annual meeting, attendees underscored the vital role of the business community in the months before the winning expo bid is announced in November.