OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 18, 2025--
Kochi Prefecture will host “WORLD YOSAKOI DAY” on August 22 (Fri) and 23 (Sat) at the EXPO Arena “Matsuri” during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
The day YOSAKOI becomes a world culture. A special two-day event for the benefit of both Kochi and the world is scheduled be held.
This event invites people from around the world to dance Yosakoi, which originated in Kochi, and to fully experience Kochi with all five senses, featuring street markets boasting over 300 years of history and products from every city, town, and village in the prefecture.
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From the “Original Yosakoi” performed at the first Yosakoi Festival, to Yosakoi teams from Kochi and the Kansai region known for their unique and vibrant performances, student teams representing the future of Yosakoi, and even teams participating from overseas, * all of which will dazzle spectators with their performances.
* Overseas Performing Teams
Kizuna International Team (North America and other regions) / Núi Trúc Sakura Yosakoi (Vietnam) / Hanoi Sennen Yosakoi Team (Vietnam)
SUPER LOCAL "Yosakoi Festival in EXPO"
A Special Stage Presented by Kochi, the Birthplace of Yosakoi!
In addition to stage performances, dancers led by "jikata" floats will parade and dance through the venue. In true Kochi Yosakoi style, the close connection between dancers and spectators will be reenacted in style, allowing visitors to cheer with fans, instinctively join in the dancing, and experience a sense of unity.
What is the Yosakoi Festival?
The Yosakoi Festival began in 1954 to lift spirits and dispel the gloom of the postwar economic slump. Held every year from August 9 - 12 in Kochi City, it attracts approximately 200 teams and around 18,000 dancers from both inside and outside the prefecture, flooding the streets with excitement. These lively Yosakoi Festival teams are set to gather at the Expo site.
Highlights
Everyone Dancing Together! A Fully Participatory Group Dance Event!
On the day of the event, a “Sō Odori” (mass dancing event) provides a chance for dancers and spectators to enjoy Yosakoi together. Using Yosakoi as a common language, the participating dancers and the crowd unite, creating an unmissable moment as the entire venue is filled with fervor.
SUPER LOCAL "300 Years of Tradition: The Street Market"
Experience the Charm of Kochi at the Expo's Street Market!
The Street Market, which has been handed down for more than 300 years and is cherished especially by the people of Kochi Prefecture, will be recreated at the Expo site. Various products nurtured by the rich nature of Kochi Prefecture will be available in one place. Sunday market exhibitors will also participate and all municipalities in the prefecture will join in the street market, showcasing the charms of each area of Kochi Prefecture. In addition to gourmet bites on-the-go and shopping, visitors can enjoy communicating with the friendly vendors.
Japan's Largest Street Market in Both Scale and History
In Kochi Prefecture, street markets held along the roadsides have long enjoyed popularity. The largest of these is the “Sunday Market,” a so-called living market stretching about 1 kilometer east from the Otemon Gate of Kochi Castle with around 300 stalls on offer. A wide range of products, from food to daily necessities are sold here, and the market attracts approximately 17,000 visitors in a single day, making it the largest in Japan in both size and history. Many vendors are happy to share tips on their manufacturing methods or recommended ways to enjoy their products, allowing visitors to enjoy warm and friendly interactions with the hospitable people of Tosa.
SUPER LOCAL "Kochi Food and Culture Experience Zone"
Events That Can Be Enjoyed Casually by Everyone, From Children to Adults, Featuring Hands-on Experiences That Let Visitors Engage With Kochi’s Culture!
The hands-on experience corners set up for families include the chance to make Yosakoi naruko clappers, a photo booth with Yosakoi festival costumes, and workshops using Tosa washi paper. Visitors can also enjoy tastings and sales at the Tosa sake corner, which is currently attracting global attention.
The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
WORLD YOSAKOI DAY Schedule / Venue Map
Scene of the Yosakoi dance performance
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s presidential election was plagued by widespread delays Thursday in addition to a days-long internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986.
Some polling stations remained closed for up to four hours after the scheduled 7 a.m. start time due to “technical challenges," according to the nation's electoral commission, which asked polling officers to use paper registration records to ensure the difficulties did not “disenfranchise any voter.”
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, faces seven other candidates, including Robert Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who is calling for political change.
The East African country of roughly 45 million people has 21.6 million registered voters. Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the electoral commission. Results are constitutionally required to be announced in 48 hours.
Impatient crowds gathered outside polling stations expressing concerns over the delays Thursday morning. Umaru Mutyaba, a polling agent for a parliamentary candidate, said it was “frustrating” to be waiting outside a station in the capital Kampala.
“We can’t be standing here waiting to vote as if we have nothing else to do," he said.
Wine alleged there was electoral fraud occurring, noting that biometric voter identification machines were not working at polling places and claiming there was “ballot stuffing.”
“Our leaders, including Deputy President for Western Region, arrested. Many of our polling agents and supervisors abducted, and others chased off polling stations,” Wine wrote in a post on social media platform X.
Museveni told journalists he was notfied biometric machines were inoperable at some stations and he supported the electoral body's decision to revert to paper registration records. He did not comment on the allegation of fraud.
Ssemujju Nganda, a prominent opposition figure and lawmaker seeking reelection in Kira municipality, told The Associated Press he had been waiting in line to vote for three hours.
Nganda also noted biometric machines were malfunctioning, in addition to the late arrival of balloting materials, and predicted the delays likely would lead to apathy and low turnout in urban areas where the opposition has substantial support.
"It’s going to be chaos,” he said Thursday morning.
Nicholas Sengoba, an independent analyst and newspaper columnist, said delays to the start of voting in urban, opposition areas favored the ruling party.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Museveni has served the third-longest term of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. Some critics say removing him through elections remains difficult, but the aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Museveni and Wine are reprising their rivalry from the previous election in 2021, when Wine appealed to mostly young people in urban areas. With voter turnout of 59%, Wine secured 35% of the ballots against Museveni’s 58%, the president’s smallest vote share since his first electoral campaign three decades ago.
The lead-up to Thursday's election produced concerns about transparency, the possibility of hereditary rule, military interference and opposition strategies to prevent vote tampering at polling stations.
Uganda's internet was shut down Tuesday by the government communications agency, which cited misinformation, electoral fraud and incitement of violence. The shutdown has affected the public and disrupted critical sectors such as banking.
There has been heavy security leading up to voting, including military units deployed on the streets this week.
Amnesty International said security forces are engaging in a “brutal campaign of repression,” citing a Nov. 28 opposition rally in eastern Uganda where the military blocked exits and opened fire on supporters, killing one person.
Museveni urged voters to come out in large numbers during his final rally Tuesday.
“You go and vote, anybody who tries to interfere with your freedom will be crushed. I am telling you this. We are ready to put an end to this indiscipline,” he said.
The national electoral commission chairperson, Simon Byabakama, urged tolerance among Ugandans as they vote.
“Let us keep the peace that we have,” Byabakama said late Wednesday. “Let us be civil. Let us be courteous. Let’s be tolerant. Even if you know that this person does not support (your) candidate, please give him or her room or opportunity to go and exercise his or her constitutional right."
Authorities also suspended the activities of several civic groups during the campaign season. That Group, a prominent media watchdog, closed its office Wednesday after the interior ministry alleged in a letter that the group was involved in activities “prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda.”
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.
Uganda opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, right, greets election observers, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, at his home in Magere village on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)
Billboards of Uganda President and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni are seen in Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Electoral workers deliver ballot boxes to a polling station during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters are reflected in a police officer's sunglasses as they wait in line after voting failed to start on time due to system failures during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during the presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
