Osaka Expo Hit by Train Outage and New Shoplifting Arrests

Rail service to the 2025 Osaka–Kansai Expo was halted on Wednesday evening after an electrical equipment fault forced Osaka Metro to suspend all trains on the Central Line between Yumeshima and Nagata. The line is the sole rail link to the artificial island hosting the world fair. Osaka Metro said the outage began at about 9:30 p.m. following a failure near Cosmo Square Station. Shuttle services later resumed on a limited basis between Yumeshima and Cosmo Square, but the company gave no timetable for restoring full operations. The disruption left thousands of visitors stranded inside the venue. Congestion grew so severe that the Expo’s East Gate was briefly closed, and station staff imposed entry restrictions at Yumeshima Station. Police reported no injuries, but local officials warned that prolonged delays could pose health risks for elderly guests and children amid midsummer heat. Earlier the same day, Osaka Prefectural Police arrested two additional male university students on suspicion of stealing large quantities of Expo merchandise, bringing the total number of suspects in the case to five. Investigators say the group, friends since middle school and enthusiasts of train photography, travelled together from Tokyo after allegedly entering the Tokaido Shinkansen network with platform-only tickets and riding to Shin-Kobe without paying. One suspect told officers that fare evasion was ‘common practice’ among their circle.