Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Subcontractors involved in the construction of eight overseas pavilions at the Osaka-Kansai Expo are claiming they have not been paid for their work, Japanese media reported.

Some subcontractors are preparing to sue GL Events Japan, the prime contractor for four of the overseas pavilions involved in nonpayment disputes. Around 20 subcontractors gathered in protest in front of the French company’s Japan branch in Osaka city on July 10, demanding to be paid.

TSUJIMOTO Takayoshi, the president of Osaka-based construction company Rego said he trusted GL Events, given its track record in international events, and decided to take on jobs for the Serbian and German pavilions.

However, steel frames that arrived from overseas differed from the blueprints, while workers were instructed almost daily to perform tasks not in the original contract, causing labor costs and heavy machinery rental fees to balloon.

After more than two months of fruitless negotiations, Tsujimoto plans to file a lawsuit seeking approximately 340 million yen ($2.3 million) in unpaid construction fees from GL Events. Another company in western Japan that worked on the Malta pavilion filed a suit in June seeking more than 110 million yen.

Several subcontractors formed a victims’ group at the end of May, requesting reimbursement from the prefectural government, but were told that taxpayer money cannot be used to resolve private disputes.