The Osaka Expo once again finds itself faced with cost increases, as the government predicts it will need more than originally planned for the event¡¯s promotional budget.

In a revised proposal for the 2024 fiscal year budget, the amount requested for nationwide promotional activities related to the expo, officially known as the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo, has been raised by about ?200 million ($1.3 million) from ?3.8 billion to ?4 billion.

The latest request would raise the total amount of money directly spent by the national government on all expo-related activities from ?164.7 billion ¡ª a figure announced in December ¡ª to ?164.9 billion.