Editing Osaka (section)

== History ==
{{For timeline}}

=== Origins: Jōmon and Yayoi period ===
During the [[Jōmon period]] (7,000 BCE), present-day Osaka was mostly submerged, and the {{Nihongo|[[Uemachi Plateau]]|上町台地|Uemachi Daichi}} formed a 12&nbsp;km long and 2.5&nbsp;km wide peninsula separating [[Kawachi Bay]] from the [[Seto Inland Sea]].<ref name="Uemachidaichi"/><ref name="plain"/> It is considered one of the first places where inhabitants of Japan settled, both for the favorable geological conditions, rich in fresh water and lush vegetation, and because its position was defensible against military attack.<ref name="Uemachidaichi">{{cite web |title=Uemachidaichi - A journey to ancient osaka |date=May 1, 2007 |url=http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/culture/2007may/01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228011113/http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/culture/2007may/01.html |archive-date=December 28, 2012 |website=www.osaka-info.jp}}</ref>

[[File:Corbicula_sandai_-_Osaka_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_DSC07755.JPG|thumb|upright|170px|Ancient shells found in the Morinomiya kaizuka ([[Jomon period]])]]
The earliest evidence of settlements in the Osaka area are the {{nihongo4|Morinomiya ruins|森ノ宮遺跡|Morinomiya iseki}} which is located in the central [[Chūō-ku, Osaka|Chuo-ku]] district.<ref name="Uemachidaichi"/> Buried human skeletons and a kaizuka (a mound containing remains), were found as well as shell mounds, oysters, and other interesting archeological discoveries from the Jomon period.<ref name="Uemachidaichi"/> In addition to the remains of consumed food, there were arrow heads, stone tools, fishing hooks and crockery with remains from rice processing. It is estimated that the ruins contain 2,000-year-old debris between the [[Jomon period|Jomon]] and [[Yayoi period]]. The findings of the archeological sites are exhibited in an adjacent building.<ref name="osakahist"/><ref name="Uemachidaichi"/>

In the years between the end of the Jōmon period and the beginning of the Yayoi period, the sediments that were deposited north of the Uemachi peninsula / plateau transformed Kawachi Bay into a lagoon.<ref name="plain">{{cite journal| url=http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110003025552 |title=The Developmental History of the Osaka Plain |journal=地質学論集 |year=1972 |issue=7 |pages=101–112 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030528/https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110003025552 |archive-date=December 1, 2017|last1=Hikotaro |first1=Kajiyama |last2=Minoru |first2=Itihara }}</ref> During the [[Yayoi period]] (300 BCE-250 CE), permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular.<ref name="osakahist">{{cite web |title=Historical Overview, the City of Osaka official homepage |url=http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322141953/http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html |archive-date=March 22, 2009 |access-date=March 21, 2009}} Navigate to the equivalent Japanese page ({{Nihongo2|大阪市の歴史 タイムトリップ20,000年}} [History of Osaka, A timetrip back 20,000 years])[http://www.city.osaka.jp/city/history/history.html/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226221108/http://www.city.osaka.jp/city/history/history.html|date=February 26, 2009}} for additional information.</ref>

At the beginning of the third century CE the grand shrine of [[Sumiyoshi-taisha]] was inaugurated near the harbor, commissioned by consort [[Empress Jingū]]. This [[Shinto]] shrine structure survived historical events,<ref>[http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/tempio/ templi] www.treccani.it</ref> which inaugurated a new style in the construction of Shinto shrines, called [[Sumiyoshi-zukuri]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/sumiyoshi/english/view/view.html |title=Sumiyoshi Ward |website=www.city.osaka.lg.jp |date=April 21, 2011 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030241/https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/sumiyoshi/english/view/view.html}}</ref> The maritime panorama enjoyed from the shrine gardens inspired several artists, and nowadays the representations of that type of landscape are called ''Sumiyoshi drawings''.

Towards the end of the Yayoi period the Uemachi plateau-peninsula expanded further, transforming the Kawachi Lagoon into a lake (河内湖) connected to the mouth of the [[Yodo River]], which had widened to the south.<ref name="plain"/>

=== Kofun period ===
By the [[Kofun period]], Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The port of Naniwa-tsu was established and became the most important in Japan.<ref name="sumiyoshi"/> Trade with other areas of the country and the [[Asia|Asian continent]] intensified.<ref name="sumiyoshi"/> The large numbers of increasingly larger keyhole-shaped [[Kofun]] mounds found in the plains of Osaka are evidence of political-power concentration, leading to the formation of a state.<ref name="osakahist"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Tsuneko S. Sadao, Stephanie Wada, Discovering the Arts of Japan: A Historical Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMC4RMXQkn0C&q=osaka+kofun+period&pg=RA2-PA30|access-date = March 25, 2007|isbn=978-4-7700-2939-3|author1=Wada, Stephanie|year=2003| publisher=Kodansha International }}</ref> The findings in the neighboring plains, including the mausoleum of [[Emperor Nintoku]] was discovered nearby in [[Sakai]] testify to the status of imperial city that Osaka had reached. Four of these mounds can be seen in Osaka, in which important members of the nobility are buried. They are located in the southern districts of the city and date back to the 5th century.<ref name="sumiyoshi">{{cite web| url=http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/sumiyoshi/english/attract/attrac01.html |title=Tezukayama Ancient Burial Mound |website=www.city.osaka.lg.jp |date= April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032332/https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/sumiyoshi/english/attract/attrac01.html |archive-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref> A group of megalithic tombs called [[Mozu Tombs]] are located in [[Sakai]], Osaka Prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/foreigner_en/spot/spot1.html |title=Enjoying Sakai - Kofun Tombs (Tumuli) |publisher=[[Sakai, Osaka|Sakai City]] |access-date=May 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722214046/http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/foreigner_en/spot/spot1.html |archive-date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref>

Important works of the Kofun period is the excavation that diverted the course of the [[Yamato River]], whose floods caused extensive damage, and the construction of important roads in the direction of [[Sakai]] and [[Nara Prefecture|Nara]].<ref name="osakahist"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Discovering the Arts of Japan: A Historical Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMC4RMXQkn0C&q=osaka+kofun+period&pg=RA2-PA30|author=Stephanie Wada |year=2003| publisher=Kodansha International |access-date=July 4, 2010|isbn=978-4-7700-2939-3}}</ref> Maritime traffic connected to the port of Naniwa-tsu increased in such a way that huge warehouses were built to stow material arriving and departing.<ref name="osakahist"/>

=== Asuka and Nara period ===
The [[Kojiki]] records that during 390–430 CE, there was an imperial palace located at Osumi, in what is present day [[Higashiyodogawa-ku, Osaka|Higashiyodogawa ward]], but it may have been a secondary imperial residence rather than a capital.<ref>{{Nihongo2|大石慎三郎「日本の遷都の系譜」、『學習院大學經濟論集』第28巻第3号、学習院大学、1991年10月、 31–41頁}}、 NAID 110007523974。P.31</ref>

In 645, [[Emperor Kōtoku]] built his [[Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace]] in what is now Osaka,<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ja:史跡 難波宮跡, 財団法人 大阪都市協会 |trans-title=Naniwa Palace Site, by Osaka Toshi Kyokai|language=ja|url=http://www.osaka-cpa.or.jp/html/bunka/rekisi/naniwa1.html|access-date=March 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502002124/http://www.osaka-cpa.or.jp/html/bunka/rekisi/naniwa1.html|archive-date=May 2, 2007}}</ref> making it the capital of Japan. The city now known as Osaka was at this time referred to as Naniwa (written as {{Nihongo2|浪華}} or {{Nihongo2|浪花}}) and this name and derivations of it are still in use for districts in central Osaka such as [[Naniwa-ku, Osaka|Naniwa]] ({{Nihongo2|浪速}}) and [[Namba]] ({{Nihongo2|難波}}). Although the capital was moved to [[Asuka, Yamato|Asuka]] (in [[Nara Prefecture]] today) in 655, Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between [[Yamato Province|Yamato]] (modern day [[Nara Prefecture]]), [[Naval history of Korea|Korea]], and [[Naval history of China|China]].<ref name="osakahist"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Peter G. Stone and Philippe G. Planel |title=The constructed past: experimental archaeology, education, and the public |url=https://archive.org/details/constructedpast00plan |url-access=limited |publisher=Routledge in association with English Heritage |location=London |year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/constructedpast00plan/page/n88 68] |isbn=978-0-415-11768-5 }}</ref>

Naniwa was declared the capital again in 744 by order of [[Emperor Shōmu]], and remained so until 745, when the Imperial Court moved back to [[Heijō-kyō]] (now [[Nara (city)|Nara]]). By the end of the Nara period, Naniwa's seaport roles had been gradually taken over by neighboring areas, but it remained a lively center of river, channel, and land transportation between [[Kyoto|Heian-kyō]] (Kyoto today) and other destinations. [[Sumiyoshi Taisha]] Grand Shrine was founded by Tamomi no Sukune in 211 CE.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924111551/http://www.sumiyoshitaisha.net/outline/history.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url=http://www.sumiyoshitaisha.net/outline/history.html|title=歴史年表 (History of Sumiyoshi-taisha)|work=sumiyoshitaisha.net|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref> [[Shitennō-ji]] was first built in 593 CE and is the oldest [[Buddhist]] temple in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/bauten/anm_torii.htm#aussershinto|title=Religion in Japan|last=Scheid, Bernhard|author-link=Bernhard Scheid|work=Torii|publisher=University of Vienna|language=de|access-date=February 12, 2010}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="3">
File:Sumiyoshi-taisha,_keidai-2.jpg|[[Sumiyoshi Taisha]] Grand Shrine
File:Shitennoji07s3200.jpg|[[Shitennō-ji]]
File:Naniwa-no-miya-ato,_zenkei-2.jpg|Remains of Naniwa-no-Miya Palace (2017)
</gallery>

=== Heian to Edo period ===
In 1496, [[Jōdo Shinshū]] [[Buddhism|Buddhists]] established their headquarters in the heavily fortified [[Ishiyama Hongan-ji]], located directly on the site of the old Naniwa Imperial Palace. [[Oda Nobunaga]] began a decade-long siege campaign on the temple in 1570 which ultimately resulted in the surrender of the monks and subsequent razing of the temple. [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] constructed [[Osaka Castle]] in its place in 1583.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/discover/learn/historical_overview.html|title=HISTORICAL OVERVIEW – DISCOVER – OSAKA INFO -Osaka Visitors' Guide|date=January 29, 2018|access-date=September 19, 2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923040308/http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/discover/learn/historical_overview.html}}</ref> Osaka Castle played a pivotal role in the [[Siege of Osaka]] (1614–1615).

Osaka was long considered Japan's primary economic center,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html |title=-Osaka City- |access-date=March 21, 2009 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322141953/http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/for_tourists/c_historical_overview.html |archive-date=March 22, 2009 }}</ref> with a large percentage of the population belonging to the merchant class (see [[Four divisions of society]]). Over the course of the [[Edo period]] (1603–1867), Osaka grew into one of Japan's major cities and returned to its ancient role as a lively and important port. ''[[Daimyō]]s'' (feudal lords) received most of their income in the form of [[rice]]. [[chonin|Merchants]] in Osaka thus began to organize [[Warehouse|storehouse]]s where they would store a ''daimyō''{{'}}s rice in exchange for a fee, trading it for either coin or a form of receipt; essentially a precursor to [[Banknote|paper money]]. Many if not all of these [[rice brokers]] also made loans, and would actually become quite wealthy and powerful. Osaka merchants coalesced their shops around [[Dōjima]], where the [[Dōjima Rice Exchange|Rice Exchange]] was established in 1697 and where the world's first [[Futures exchange|futures]] market would come to exist to sell rice that was not yet harvested.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Moss|first1=David A.|last2=Kintgen|first2=Eugene|date=2009-01-30|title=The Dojima Rice Market and the Origins of Futures Trading |website=Harvard Business School |url=https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=36846|language=en-us}}</ref>

The popular culture of Osaka<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukiyo-e.se/guide.html |title=A Guide to the Ukiyo-e Sites of the Internet |access-date=October 18, 2008 |archive-date=September 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914023738/http://www.ukiyo-e.se/guide.html }}</ref> was closely related to ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' depictions of life in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]]. By 1780, Osaka had cultivated a vibrant arts culture, as typified by its famous [[Kabuki]] and [[Bunraku]] theaters.<ref>C. Andrew Gerstle, ''Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage 1780–1830'' (2005)</ref> In 1837, [[Ōshio Heihachirō]], a low-ranking [[samurai]], led a peasant insurrection in response to the city's unwillingness to support the many poor and suffering families in the area. Approximately one-quarter of the city was razed before shogunal officials put down the rebellion, after which Ōshio killed himself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ebrey |first=Patricia Buckley |author2=Walthall, Anne |author3=Palais, James B. |title=East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-618-13384-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/eastasiacultural00ebre_0/page/400 400] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/eastasiacultural00ebre_0/page/400}}</ref> Osaka was opened to foreign trade by the government of the [[Bakufu]] at the same time as [[Hyōgo Prefecture|Hyogo Town]] (modern [[Kobe]]) on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the [[Boshin War]] and the [[Meiji Restoration]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=John|last1=Whitney Hall|first2=Marius B.|last2=Jansen|title=The Cambridge History of Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OFYajIf9QgC&pg=PA304|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-22356-0|page=304}}</ref> The [[Kawaguchi foreign settlement]], now the Kawaguchi subdistrict, is a legacy of the foreign presence in Osaka.

Osaka residents were stereotyped in Edo literature from at least the 18th century. [[Jippensha Ikku]] in 1802 depicted Osakans as stingy almost beyond belief. In 1809, the derogatory term "Kamigata zeeroku" was used by Edo residents to characterize inhabitants of the Osaka region in terms of calculation, shrewdness, lack of civic spirit, and the vulgarity of Osaka dialect. Edo writers aspired to samurai culture, and saw themselves as poor but generous, chaste, and public spirited. Edo writers by contrast saw "zeeroku" as obsequious apprentices, stingy, greedy, gluttonous, and lewd. To some degree, Osaka residents are still stigmatized by Tokyo observers in the same way today, especially in terms of gluttony, evidenced in the phrase, {{Nihongo4|"Residents of Osaka devour their food until they collapse"|大阪は食倒れ|"Ōsaka wa kuidaore"}}.<ref>Richard Torrance, "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940", ''The Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), pp. 27–60</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="130" perrow="3" caption="Gallery">
File:Osaka Castle 02bs3200.jpg|[[Osaka Castle]] (first built in 1583)
File:Osaka-zu byobu.jpg|The Sumiyoshi-matsuri in the 16th century
File:The Siege of Osaka Castle.jpg|Japanese painting of the [[Siege of Osaka]] (1615)
File:Newly compiled and enlarged plan of Ōsaka (14042582876).jpg|Map of Osaka, 1686
File:Dojima-Rice-Exchange-Osaka-by-Yoshimitsu-Sasaki.png|Dōjima Rice Exchange ukiyo-e by Yoshimitsu Sasaki
</gallery>

=== Meiji to Heisei period ===
With the enormous changes that characterized the country after the [[Meiji Restoration]] (1868), and the relocation of the capital from [[Kyoto]] to [[Tokyo]], Osaka entered a period of decline. From being the capital of the economy and finance, it became a predominantly industrial center.<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/> The modern municipality was established<ref name="osaka-info.jp">{{cite web |url=http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/about/historical.html |title=Osaka city |publisher=Osaka-info.jp |access-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306155741/http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/about/historical.html |archive-date=March 6, 2010 }}</ref> in 1889 by [[City designated by government ordinance|government ordinance]], with an initial area of {{convert|15|km2|0|abbr=out}}, overlapping today's [[Chūō-ku, Osaka|Chuo]] and [[Nishi-ku, Osaka|Nishi]] wards. Later, the city went through three major expansions to reach its current size of {{convert|223|km2|0|abbr=out}}. Osaka was the industrial center most clearly defined in the development of capitalism in Japan. It became known as the "[[Manchester]] and [[Melbourne]] of the Orient".<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/> In 1925, it was the largest and most populous city in Japan and sixth in the world.<ref name="osaka-info.jp"/>

The rapid industrialization attracted many Asian immigrants (Indians, Chinese, and Koreans), who set up a life apart for themselves.<ref>Chisato Hotta, "The Construction of the Korean Community in Osaka between 1920 and 1945: A Cross-Cultural Perspective." PhD dissertation U. of Chicago 2005. 498 pp. DAI 2005 65(12): 4680-A. DA3158708 Fulltext: [[ProQuest]] Dissertations & Theses</ref> The political system was pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on promoting industrialization and modernization.<ref>Blair A. Ruble, ''Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka.'' (2001)</ref> Literacy was high and the educational system expanded rapidly, producing a middle class with a taste for literature and a willingness to support the arts.<ref>Richard Torrance, "Literacy and Literature in Osaka, 1890–1940," ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 31#1 (Winter 2005), p.27-60 in [[Project MUSE]]</ref> In 1927, [[General Motors]] operated a factory called [[List of General Motors factories|Osaka Assembly]] until 1941, manufacturing [[Chevrolet]], [[Cadillac]], [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]], [[Oldsmobile]], and [[Buick]] vehicles, operated and staffed by Japanese workers and managers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/ANA03/809150388/gm-had-early-start-in-japan-but-was-hobbled-by-nationalism|title=GM had early start in Japan but was hobbled by nationalism|date=August 25, 2008}}</ref> In the nearby city of [[Ikeda, Osaka|Ikeda]] in Osaka Prefecture is the headquarters of [[Daihatsu]], one of Japan's oldest automobile manufacturers.

Like its European and American counterparts, Osaka displayed slums, unemployment, and poverty. In Japan it was here that municipal government first introduced a comprehensive system of poverty relief, copied in part from British models. Osaka policymakers stressed the importance of family formation and mutual assistance as the best way to combat poverty. This minimized the cost of welfare programs.<ref>Kingo Tamai, "Images of the Poor in an Official Survey of Osaka, 1923–1926." ''Continuity and Change'' 2000 15(1): 99–116. {{ISSN|0268-4160}} Fulltext: [[Cambridge UP]]</ref>

During [[World War II]], [[Bombing of Osaka|Osaka came under air raids]] in 1945 by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] as part of the [[air raids on Japan]]. On March 13, 1945, a total of 329 [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] [[heavy bombers]] took part in the raid against Osaka. According to an American [[prisoner of war]] who was held in the city, the air raid took almost the entire night and destroyed {{convert|25|sqmi|km2}} of the city. The U.S. bombed the city again twice in June 1945 and again on August 14, a day before [[Japan's surrender]].<ref>Andy Raskin, "The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life".</ref>

In the decades following World War II, Osaka's reconstruction efforts and the industriousness of its residents brought the city even greater prosperity than before the war. Its population surpassed three million in the 1960s, initiating large-scale suburbanization within the prefecture, and eventually doubled to six million by the 1990s. With factories rebuilt and trade revived, Osaka rapidly developed into a major multicultural and financial center from [[Japanese economic miracle|the 1950s through the 1980s]]. Osaka Prefecture was chosen as the venue for the prestigious [[Expo '70]], the first [[world's fair]] ever held in an Asian country. Since then, numerous international events have been held in Osaka, including the 1995 [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation|APEC Summit]].

The modern municipality, which when it was established in 1889 occupied an area of just 15&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> including the districts of Chūō and Nishi, following three successive expansions has reached an area of 222&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>. It was one of the first cities in Japan to obtain [[Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan|designated city]] status in 1956.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jacobs, A.J. |title="Japan's Evolving Nested Municipal Hierarchy: The Race for Local Power in the 2000s"|journal=Urban Studies Research |date=2011 |volume=2011 |pages=1–14 |publisher=Hindawi, Urban Studies Research, Vol. 2011 (2011), [[doi:10.1155/2011/692764]] |doi=10.1155/2011/692764 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===21st century to present===
The plan to reorganize Osaka and its province into a metropolis like Tokyo met with stiff opposition in some municipalities, particularly the highly populated [[Sakai]]. He{{Who|date=May 2024}} then fell back on a project that included the suppression of the 24 wards of Osaka, thus dividing the city into 5 new special districts with a status similar to that of the 23 [[Special wards of Tokyo]]. It was introduced by former mayor [[Tōru Hashimoto]], leader of the reform party [[Osaka Restoration Association]] which he founded. The referendum of May 17, 2015 called in Osaka for the approval of this project saw the narrow victory of no, and consequently Hashimoto announced his withdrawal from politics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/17/national/politics-diplomacy/osaka-referendum-rejects-merger-plan-possibly-ending-hashimotos-political-career/ |title=Hashimoto announces exit from politics after Osaka rejects merger plan in referendum |date=May 19, 2017|language= en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127212535/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/17/national/politics-diplomacy/osaka-referendum-rejects-merger-plan-possibly-ending-hashimotos-political-career/ |archive-date=November 27, 2020}}</ref> A second referendum for a merger into 4 semi-autonomous wards was narrowly voted down by 692,996 (50.6%).<ref name="metropolis-2020"/>

According to the [[Forbes]] list of ''The World's Most Expensive Places To Live 2009'', Osaka was the second most expensive in the world after [[Tokyo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/06/most-expensive-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-daily-costs_slide_20.html|title=In Depth: World's Most Expensive Cities To Live |website=Forbes|date=July 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131736/http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/06/most-expensive-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-daily-costs_slide_20.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref> By 2020 it slipped to 5th rank of most expensive cities.<ref name="forbes-2020"/>

On 7 March 2014, the 300-metre tall [[Abeno Harukas]] opened, which became the tallest building in Japan (surpassing the [[Yokohama Landmark Tower]] in [[Yokohama]]), until it was in turn surpassed by the 330-metre tall [[Azabudai Hills|Azabudai Hills Main Tower]] in [[Tokyo]] following its completion in 2022.<ref name="Tallest high-rise nears completion">{{cite news | url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/23/business/tallest-high-rise-nears-completion/#.UnoXmb-lf-k | title=Tallest high-rise nears completion | work=[[The Japan Times]] | date=October 23, 2013 | access-date=November 6, 2013 | archive-date=April 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428022114/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/23/business/tallest-high-rise-nears-completion/#.UnoXmb-lf-k | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Expo 2025]] is being held at [[Yumeshima]] Island, [[Konohana-ku, Osaka|Konohana-ku]]. Osaka is the third city to host the [[World Expo]] twice, previously hosting [[Expo '70]]. It is also the fourth [[World’s Fair]] held in Japan following [[Expo '90]] and [[Expo 2005]] in [[Aichi Prefecture]]. The event will return to its traditional 5-year scheduling cycle after the [[Expo 2020]] in [[Dubai]] was delayed to 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://japan-forward.com/osaka-is-world-expo-2025-host/|title=Osaka Is World Expo 2025 Host {{!}} JAPAN Forward|date=23 November 2018|work=Japan Forward|access-date=23 November 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> The projected visitor count is approximately 28 million.<ref name="about">{{cite web |title=Overview |url=https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/overview/ |work=Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 |access-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811164533/https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/overview/ |archive-date=11 August 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[MGM Resorts]] began construction on [[MGM Osaka]] in April 2025. MGM Osaka will be the first [[integrated resort]] in Japan. It will include 2,300 hotel rooms, a casino, shopping and dining options, convention space and a 3,500-seat theatre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.casino.org/news/mgm-osaka-to-begin-construction-main-resort-april-2025/|title=MGM Osaka To Begin Construction on Resort in April 2025|first=Devin|last=O'Connor|date=December 26, 2024|website=Casino.org|accessdate=February 23, 2025}}</ref><ref>[https://www.casino.org/news/mgm-osaka-breaks-ground-9-billion-resort-japan/ MGM Osaka Breaks Ground on $8.9 Billion Resort, Japan’s First Casino]</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="130" perrow="3" caption="Gallery">
File:Osaka Umeda Sky Building Panoramablick 05.jpg|Skyscrapers in [[Umeda]] district
File:Sennichimae Osaka ca1916.JPG|Sennichimae area in 1916
File:Osaka after the 1945 air raid.JPG|View of Osaka after the [[Bombing of Osaka|bombing]] in 1945
File:Abeno Harukas 20140507-002.jpg|[[Abeno Harukas]], second-tallest building in Japan
</gallery>