Japan wraps up unexpectedly successful World Expo | International

TOKYO, Oct 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Japan brings down the curtain Monday on the six-month World Expo, having surmounted initially tepid public enthusiasm, contaminated fountains and swarms of pesky flies to welcome more than 27 million visitors. Expo 2025's star attraction, the Grand Ring -- the world's largest wooden structure, surrounding all the country pavilions -- has proven such a hit that a high school student has even launched a petition to save it. Currently, the plan is for a 200-metre (656-foot) section of the ring, the work of renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, to be preserved on an artificial island in host city Osaka. But the nearly 7,000 petitioners say they want it saved in its entirety. "At the...