Man Gains Entry to Expo 2025 with Ticket from Canceled 1940 Event

A man was admitted to the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, using a ticket from the canceled 1940 “Grand International Exposition of Japan,” organizers said. The original event, scheduled to be held in Tokyo, was postponed indefinitely due to Japan’s involvement in World War II, though tickets were released in 1938. Organizers of the ongoing Expo 2025, which opened last month and runs until mid-October, decided to honor tickets from the 1940 event and exchanged one for two one-day passes on Monday.

Local media reported that the ticket holder was 25-year-old Fumiya Takenawa, a Tokyo resident visiting his parents in Osaka. Takenawa, a collector of expo memorabilia, purchased the 1940 ticket online in March. Outlets including the Mainichi Shimbun published a photo of him smiling and holding the vintage ticket, which displays an elaborate red and black design.

The tradition of accepting 1940 tickets is not new. Organizers said that previous Expos in Japan—Osaka in 1970 and Aichi in 2005—also welcomed holders of the historic passes with “invitation tickets.” This policy serves as a symbolic tribute to the event that never took place but still holds cultural significance.

Takenawa is reportedly a fan of the “Tower of the Sun,” the iconic white and red sculpture that symbolized the 1970 Osaka Expo and still stands today in a park in the city. The Expo, or World’s Fair, which began with London’s Crystal Palace exhibition in 1851 and famously introduced the Eiffel Tower to Paris, continues to be held every five years in different global locations.