Universal Studios Japan

is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the second to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The park is similar in layout to Universal Studios Florida and contains selected attractions from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, in addition to a small number of unique attractions. Over 11 million guests visited the park in its opening year, making it the fastest theme park to reach the 10 million guest milestone at the time. In 2022 USJ hosted 12.3 million visitors, making it the third-most visited theme park in the world behind Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, and the most visited theme park in Asia. History In December 1992, Osaka Universal Planning Inc. was established in Minato-ku, Osaka to plan and research for the development and construction of a large-scale theme park in Japan. In February 1996, the master agreement regarding planning, construction and operation of the Universal Studios Japan theme park was concluded with American corporation MCA Inc. Osaka Universal Planning Inc. was also renamed USJ Co., Ltd. Licensing agreements regarding the planning, construction and operation of Universal Studios Japan was concluded with the Universal Group in 1998 and later that year, construction of the theme park officially began. The park opened on March 31, 2001. Lands and attractions The park covers .