Yokohama’s Green x Expo 2027 Faces Challenges of Increasing Construction Costs, Low Public Awareness

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, April 13, 2026

YOKOHAMA — The International Horticultural Expo 2027, billed “the next World Expo” to be held in Japan, is set to open in Yokohama next March but faces many challenges, such as soaring construction costs amid growing tensions in the Middle East and a lack of public awareness.

The venue for the Green x Expo 2027 spans about 100 hectares of a former U.S. military facility across the city’s Seya and Asahi wards. It will be adorned with about 10 million flowers and plants and feature exhibits on food, agriculture and other related topics. Tokyo-based Kajima Corp. will construct a 60-meter-tall wooden tower using timber from the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo’s iconic Grand Ring. The Expo has also drawn the participation of 61 countries and international organizations.Development costs — initially estimated at ¥32 billion in fiscal 2021 — have risen to ¥41.7 billion due to soaring material and labor costs.

There are also concerns that costs could rise further depending on the situation in the Middle East. The Japan Association for the International Horticultural Expo 2027, Yokohama, the organizer, said it would closely monitor future developments.

The venue is 2 kilometers away or an about 30-minute walk from the nearest station. Shuttle buses are planned to depart from four nearby stations and organizers plans to secure parking for 6,500 vehicles, but congestion is still expected.

Yokohama City conducted a public survey in March and found that 81% of Yokohama residents were aware of the event, but only 61.1% of Kanagawa Prefecture residents knew about the event in a prefectural survey conducted in October and November. Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko, who inspected the venue on Saturday, said, “We need to do more to raise its profile.”

The city and the organizer have run a train wrapped with the Expo’s official mascot Tunku Tunku in Tokyo and been promoting the Expo at flower and greenery-related events.