Politics · Other · 13 hrs ago
Angola pays ¥17 million toward unpaid Osaka Expo construction bill
A subcontractor who worked on Angola’s pavilion at the Osaka Expo says he was left with about ¥43 million in unpaid fees.
Angola’s government paid him about ¥17 million, roughly 40% of the bill, in July, citing humanitarian reasons.
He had worked as a fifth-tier subcontractor on electrical work and used about 20 workers.
The Expo has closed, but many subcontractors still say they have not been paid for construction work.
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura welcomed Angola’s payment but says the prefecture and Expo organisers lack a legal basis to pay instead.
The subcontractor’s representative says Yoshimura should have thanked Angola and criticised the response as inadequate.
There is no stated plan to cover the unpaid balance, and the dispute over public assistance remains unresolved.
Angola’s government paid about ¥17 million to a contractor who was owed money for electrical work on the Angola pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
The payment covered about 40% of the roughly ¥43 million owed to Kenji Kida, a fifth-tier subcontractor.
Kida said the money was transferred in July, and the payment became public on October 13, 2026.
Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura welcomed Angola’s action but said public authorities could not provide relief because they lacked a legal basis to pay.
Kida criticized Yoshimura, saying he should have first thanked Angola for helping a contractor affected by unpaid work at the expo.
- Who
- Angola’s government paid Kenji Kida, a subcontractor on the Angola pavilion’s electrical work.
- What
- It paid about ¥17 million toward roughly ¥43 million in unpaid construction costs.
- When
- The payment was made in July; it was reported on October 13, 2026.
- Where
- The unpaid work was for the Angola pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
- Why
- Angola cited humanitarian reasons; Kida said the government told him a Spanish company had appealed for help.
Kenji Kida
Hirofumi Yoshimura
Response to Angola's payment
Kenji Kida
Kida said Yoshimura should have thanked Angola for helping a contractor affected by unpaid work.
Hirofumi Yoshimura
Yoshimura welcomed Angola’s action as “a good thing.
Relief from public bodies
Kenji Kida
Kida questioned the response of Osaka’s authorities to the unpaid bill.
Hirofumi Yoshimura
Yoshimura said relief by Osaka Prefecture or the expo association was very difficult because there was no legal basis for payment.
Kida joined electrical work on the Angola pavilion as a fifth-tier subcontractor.
Kida said he directly told the pavilion’s director that he had not been paid.
After Kida held a news conference about the unpaid bill, representatives of the Angolan government sought a meeting with him.
Angola’s government transferred about ¥17 million to Kida.
The payment was reported publicly.
Yoshimura welcomed Angola’s payment and again said relief by Osaka Prefecture or the expo association was difficult.
- Payment
- About ¥17 million
- Unpaid bill
- Roughly ¥43 million
- Share paid
- About 40%
- Recipient
- Kenji Kida
- Work
- Electrical construction for the Angola pavilion
- Reported publicly
- October 13, 2026
3 sources
What people are saying
I thought, “Does he have any compassion?
They told me, “We’ll speak to the government for you, too,” and sent me warm messages of support, but I never thought they would actually do it.
It is definitely better if there are no unpaid problems.