Japan announces its support for Busan as host of Expo 2030

The Japanese government officially announced its support for Busan as a host of the World Expo 2030 during a bilateral meeting between South Korea and Japan held on the occasion of a foreign ministers’ meeting between South Korea, China, and Japan in Busan on Sunday. This is the first time the Japanese government explicitly supported another country to support the expo. The country to host the upcoming expo will be decided by vote at a general meeting of the Bureau International des Expositions to be held in Paris on Tuesday (local time).

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoko Kamikawa met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea Park Jin on Sunday morning and clearly expressed the Japanese government’s support for Busan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol that he would vote for Busan during a summit between the two countries held on the occasion of a G20 summit in New Delhi, India in September. Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Italy’s Rome, and Busan are competing to become the host of the next expo.

Some members of the Japanese government initially called for supporting Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, considering the country’s relationship with the Middle East on which Japan is dependent for its oil import. However, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Japanese government changed its stance considering the fact that the Yoon government of South Korea has been working to improve the bilateral relationship by suggesting third-party reimbursement for compensation for the victims of Japan’s forced labor.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China, and Japan held a meeting in Busan to determine the schedule and agenda for an upcoming trilateral meeting. However, it was reported that they were unable to agree on the specific date of the meeting. The trilateral meeting has been suspended since it was held in Chengdu, China in December 2019.


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