Is 「将来が期待される」 idiomatic? Why does it mean "promising future"? Why is the passive form used in the sentence at issue?


I came across the following sentence as an example sentence for the grammar
point つつある in 新完全マスター文法N2:

> この会社は現在発展しつつあり、将来が期待される。

My attempted translation is

> As this company continues to develop, "the future is expected" (?)

This literal translation of the 将来が期待される part didn't make sense to me. I know
that 期待 means "expectations", but you would expect a particular outcome,
result or state, not just "the future" in general, for example:

> **よい** 結果を期待している。

I looked up the expression 将来が期待される and [it seems to
mean](https://ja.hinative.com/questions/21061898) "promising, being expected
to have a good future". But I don't understand where this "good, promising"
part comes from. Does it come from 将来, from 期待, or is it just an idiomatic
expression?

Additionally, I am confused by the use of the passive 将来が期待される instead of
将来を期待する. Is the company itself expecting a promising future or is it a general
expectation by the public?




期待する itself is more positive than neutral. It's like saying you look forward
to having or seeing something rather than just saying you expect to have or
see something.

将来 here refers to the future state of the company, not the future as a general
time frame.

The passive is because the subject of 期待する is no one in particular but people
in general. 将来を期待する or 期待している here would mean the author is stating their own
expectations. I would say this passive is similar to _se_ in Spanish as in _se
espera que tenga un buen futuro_. It's not the same as _espero que tenga un
buen futuro,_ right?

You can also say 将来が期待できる but it still sounds more subjective and would be
taken as the author's opinion. 期待される deliberately avoids saying who is the one
expecting.




期待する itself is more positive than neutral. It's like saying you look forward
to having or seeing something rather than just saying you expect to have or
see something.

将来 here refers to the future state of the company, not the future as a general
time frame.

The passive is because the subject of 期待する is no one in particular but people
in general. 将来を期待する or 期待している here would mean the author is stating their own
expectations. I would say this passive is similar to _se_ in Spanish as in _se
espera que tenga un buen futuro_. It's not the same as _espero que tenga un
buen futuro,_ right?

You can also say 将来が期待できる but it still sounds more subjective and would be
taken as the author's opinion. 期待される deliberately avoids saying who is the one
expecting.

