Expoland files for bankruptcy
Written by Writer on Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Expoland files for bankruptcy
The Yomiuri Shimbun
OSAKA–Expoland, the operator of Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, announced Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Law with the Osaka District Court on Tuesday.
The operator of the park where a roller coaster derailment killed a woman and injured 19 other passengers in May 2007 has liabilities totaling about 1.6 billion yen.
The firm explained that the drastic decrease in visitors to the amusement park, due in part to the long suspension of operations after the fatal accident, have hurt the firm financially.
Unable to find firms to support Expoland’s reconstruction, the operator has abandoned its plans to independently solve its financial problems.
The firm aims to reopen the amusement park with a focus on attracting families.
The park suspended operations in May 2007, shortly after the fatal accident. It reopened the following August but again suspended operations in December of the same year as the number of visitors was down 80 percent from the same period the previous year.
Tadakazu Shimizu, president of the firm, said at a press conference Wednesday that it had asked seven firms to support its reconstruction.
“We couldn’t overcome the negative image caused by the fatal accident,” Shimizu said. “The firms didn’t believe they could profit from supporting us because of the unexpectedly large decrease in visitors.”
He also explained the firm had been considering whether to seek court protection since the beginning of October and finally decided to take the action at a board of directors meeting on Oct. 24.
Although the firm originally planned to reopen the amusement park next spring, the president said it had not decided when to resume operations.
He added, however, that he planned to make the amusement park a place that could be enjoyed by the whole family, with a new petting zoo and family farms, breaking away from the conventional amusement park concept of rides and attractions.
Masanori Ito, former director and administrative manager of the park, and two other park employees were indicted in April on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injuries, relating to the fatal accident.
(Oct. 30, 2008)
