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The story
Regarding construction work on the Osaka-Kansai Expo, it has been reported that a subcontractor is alleging they “haven’t received a single yen of the ¥31.32 million in construction costs.” According to the report, several million yen worth of air conditioning equipment was prepared before construction even began, without a contract or deposit arrangement having been finalized, and the main contractor reportedly landed a separate ¥63 billion no-bid contract for another major project around the same time. On 5ch threads, opinions were split over the subcontractor’s decision to start work without a contract, and over the response of the governor, who reportedly appealed directly to subcontractors for their cooperation.
Published 9/1 (Tue) 11:00
Joseijishin
Regarding the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which opened in April 2025, the flow of construction funds is once again under scrutiny. In construction tied to the “Grand Roof Ring,” the Expo’s signature structure, an employee who served as on-site manager for Takenaka Corporation was arrested on suspicion of having a subcontractor pad their construction cost invoices.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Governor Yoshimura is the pride of Osaka
https://i.imgur.com/kfWUKUw.jpe
Isn't this just a case of getting scammed by bad actors? Doesn't seem like it has anything to do with Ishin (the ruling Osaka political party).
It's not like Ishin gave it their official blessing or anything, right?
Once they've served their purpose, they get tossed aside.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GvGX8WjaAAEJTWi.jpg
Main contractor rep: "If you make the deadline, we'll pay you — just get it done, whatever it takes."
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Main contractor rep: "Sure, you can say 'whatever it takes,' but there are limits, and we'll be reviewing the extra costs thoroughly." (dead serious face)
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Main contractor rep: "We've reviewed the extra costs — none of them are approved."
Properly speaking, the higher up the chain you are — first-tier, second-tier contractors — the more you should be drawing up blueprints and detailed equipment specs before signing the contract. I also think the Japanese business custom of billing extra costs after the fact is a bad one.
This isn't work you can skip CAD drawings for. If it's a tough order, the price should go up front.
That said, the deeper you go into the multi-layered subcontracting chain, I honestly don't know if there's a point where it's just unavoidable in practice.
The work should absolutely be finished on time — but you can't run this with a salaryman mindset. Wouldn't it make more sense to fix the price for completion upfront, and raise it in advance whenever new contract terms come up?
This right here — all I can say is, don't prepare the goods.
Who on earth makes a several-million-yen deal on a verbal explanation alone, with no contract signed?
At any decent company, without purchase-approval evidence (a purchase order stamped by the ordering company, plus that company's credit-check paperwork), approval wouldn't come through and payment couldn't be processed. If you absolutely need payment guaranteed, that's what a deposit is for.
Using "but it's the Expo" as an excuse doesn't fly, and it's not like Yoshimura ever said "take the order even if it means bypassing the proper contract process."
Yoshimura said at the press conference he'd "respond with the victims in mind," and yet he hasn't even reached out to them.
"Can't stand with them if they don't come to me — I have no intention of going to them."
He probably thinks that one comment alone counted as more than enough "standing with them."
Not trying to defend Yoshimura here, but come on, sort this out yourself.
The governor personally asked small and medium-sized construction firms for help too, and this is how he repays the ones who, out of decency, cooperated to make the Expo a success.
Sucks up to the powerful, completely ignores the weak.
Subcontractors do it partly to build a name for themselves and make money too. Both sides are driven by greed.
If a subcontractor misses a deadline, they stop getting work in the future — and in the worst case their whole pipeline of work gets cut off and they could go under.
Hold on — they haven't even filed a lawsuit? (lol)
The moment they file a lawsuit, that company's finished, guaranteed. They're a small player who survives on scraps of work passed down to them — sue, and they'll never get work again.
But if that's how it works, there'd be no companies left standing to build the casino either.
They couldn't back out because Governor Yoshimura personally asked them at the briefing session — out of fear that refusing would mean never landing another Osaka public works contract.
Was this fourth-tier subcontractor actually asked directly, though?
They're fourth-tier precisely because they couldn't land the main contract, no?
It was Yoshimura and Yokoyama who asked that subcontractor for cooperation.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GzxrBSXbAAAIRQp.jpg
Background and Key Points of This Story
In construction tied to the Expo’s Grand Roof Ring, an on-site manager for Takenaka Corporation has already been arrested on suspicion of having a subcontractor pad their invoices, so this isn’t the first time trouble over construction costs has surfaced. The unpaid amount alleged here is a separate case, but it shares a common thread: the subcontractor moved forward with construction without confirming a contract or deposit arrangement — a pattern shaped by the multi-layered subcontracting structure in which weaker, lower-tier firms often get pressured into difficult positions. On the thread, opinions split between those pointing to the subcontractor’s own responsibility for starting work without a signed contract, and those raising concerns about the governor personally appealing for cooperation. That said, many facts remain unclear at the time of reporting — including the specific circumstances behind the non-payment, any explanation from the main contractor, and whether legal action has been taken — so definitive conclusions should be avoided.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Osaka-Kansai Expo Construction: ¥31.32 Million Unpaid] Subcontractor Alleges ‘I Haven’t Received a Single Yen’… Main Contractor Secures a Separate ¥63 Billion No-Bid Contract for Its Next Major Project.”
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