Attendants at the Electric Power pavilion throw their hats up in the air during the pavilion's closing ceremony Sept. 25.

The expo also succeeded in showcasing numerous new technologies ranging from multilingual humanoid robots to a new power generator fueled by biodegradable garbage. At the same time, however, visitors complained of problems such as long lines and the lack of foreign-language explanations.

While the 22 million visits were almost 1.5 times that of the organizer's initial target, it was still a far cry from the 64 million recorded in Japan's first world expo in Osaka in 1970, which remains the highest attendance in expo history.

Surveys conducted by the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition showed that 43.8 percent of all visitors were local residents from Aichi, the host prefecture, and that almost 40 percent made two or more visits during the period.

Meanwhile, the expo failed to attract as many foreign visitors as the association had hoped for, despite favorable visa-exemption measures and other arrangements made with the nation's Asian neighbors, such as Taiwan, South Korea and China, in the hope of boosting tourism during the expo.

Foreigners comprised only 4.6 percent of the total visitor count, less than half the 10 percent the organizer had expected.

But the expo attracted about 200 foreign dignitaries, including nine royal family members, 18 heads of state and 16 prime ministers. Among them, 34 met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, although a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that Tokyo had hoped for unfortunately did not materialize.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 1, 2005
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