The 1970 Osaka Expo: local planners, national planning processes and Mega Events

Abstract

The Expo 70 project received extraordinary levels of support from the Japanese central government in terms of both funding and the fast-tracking of infrastructural development. In order to profit from the advantageous employment of national resources, local governments competed to host the event in locations where it might boost local urban development plans. At first, local governments made independent submissions in the competition to attract the event to their areas. However, in order to overcome the powerful influence of specialists and local governments from the Tokyo metropolitan area, local governments in the Kansai region joined forces to attract the event to a region outside Tokyo and its surrounding areas. The promotion of the international exhibition in Osaka, permitted the strategic reinforcement of local planning endeavours by providing local specialists with experience of central government planning processes. Moreover, this national project can be seen as a response to local demands for large-scale urban improvement in the Kansai region.