<span style="color: #222222;">Top Osaka officials have left for Paris to rally support for their bid to host the 2025 World Expo. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui and Osaka mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura left Kansai International Airport for the French capital today. Later in the week, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) will hold a general assembly to select the host country for the Expo. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Russia is vying to host the event in Ekaterinburg and Azerbaijan is bidding to hold it in Baku. Speaking to reporters before his departure, Matsui pledged to do all he can until the end. Yoshimura said, Japan is competing with Russia and Azerbaijan and that a few votes may change the outcome. </span><br />