JP_KINKI

Kinki—also called Kansai—hosts Japan's cultural capitals and its 2025 moment on the world stage. Expo 2025 Osaka ran 184 days from April to October on Yumeshima island, drawing participation from 158 countries and generating an estimated ¥2 trillion in economic ripple effects. Two-thirds of Japanese companies reported the expo met or exceeded economic expectations; in Kansai itself, 81.3% registered positive impact.

The region's economic base extends far beyond exposition spectacle. Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara anchor a metropolitan area that has attracted tourists since medieval times. Inbound visitors to Osaka reached a record 14.64 million in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels despite—or because of—a historically weak yen. The Asia-Pacific Institute of Research projects Kansai's Gross Regional Product grew 1.0% in fiscal 2024, outpacing national averages.

The historical depth differentiates Kansai from Kantō's concentration of modernity. Kyoto's thousand-year imperial legacy, Osaka's merchant traditions, Nara's Buddhist heritage: these cultural assets generate tourism revenue that pure manufacturing cannot replicate. The pharmaceutical industry clusters here; electronics and machinery add industrial weight.

By 2026, Kansai will likely capitalize on Expo momentum while facing the challenge of sustaining tourist interest beyond headline events. The region demonstrates that economic strength can derive from accumulated heritage as well as technological innovation—that what ancestors built remains productive centuries later.