A police investigation has been launched after graffiti was daubed on a building in Osaka written in protest at Israel's participation in the upcoming Expo 2025 event in the Japanese city.
Osakan authorities discovered messages in English on the exterior of a wall of a building affiliated with the prefectural office. "The police have launched an investigation into the incident as a possible legal violation," UAE state news agency Wam reported on Monday. Prefectures are local government bodies which oversee individual cities and areas in Japan.
Israel has faced international condemnation over its war on Gaza, in which at least 50,277 Palestinians have been killed and 114,095 wounded since October 7, 2023. The conflict has led to the displacement of the vast majority of the Gaza Strip's 2.2 million population, and persistent air strikes have demolished homes, schools and hospitals, fuelling a humanitarian crisis. Major global brands have had sales hit by boycotts since the onset of the war, driven by their perceived links to Israel.
Global gathering
More than 150 countries will participate in Expo 2025 Osaka, which will run from April 13 until October 13 and is set to attract about 28 million visitors in a global celebration of innovation, ingenuity and enterprise. It will be the third world's fair to be staged in Japan and the second hosted in Osaka, one of the country’s oldest cities, which held Asia’s first World Expo in 1970.
The theme "Designing a Future Society for Our Lives" will seek to address themes of building happy lives and devising new technology in health, medicine and sustainability. A number of countries, including Iran, South Africa, Botswana and El Salvador have withdrawn from the event, organisers previously announced. The World Expo is held every five years and often is intrinsically tied to providing a boost to the host city with investments in infrastructure, culture and businesses.
Expo 2020 Dubai – which was held in 2021 after being delayed by 12 months owing to the Covid-19 pandemic – attracted 24.1 million visits during its six-month run and is expected to contribute Dh154.9 billion ($42.2 billion) to the UAE economy until 2042, according to a report issued in 2023 by the consultancy EY.
