The president of Kyushu Resorts, an organisation identified by Japan’s Nagasaki as a partner in the prefecture’s tilt at getting an integrated resort (IR) with casino, has said it will not ask the local government to file an administrative appeal about a December decision by the national authorities to reject the plan.
Kyushu Resorts’ Takashi Oya was speaking on Monday at the general affairs committee of the Nagasaki prefectural assembly, according to information collated by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
The deadline for any such appeal would be March 27.
Mr Oya stated: “We are not going to make an administrative appeal request to have the plan examined again, because there should be more demerits than merits.”
Nagasaki prefecture’s IR Promotion Division had previously identified the private-sector partners for an IR as “Casinos Austria International Japan” and “Kyushu Resorts Japan and advisors”.
Mr Oya observed in his Monday comments: “We still believe that the Nagasaki IR District Development Plan deserves approval.”
He added: “The reasons for the non-approval are the unclearness of those criteria given by the [national] government as to fundraising certainty and implementation capability and the deviation in understanding” on that topic between Nagasaki and the national authorities.
A figure of JPY438.3 billion (US$2.98 billion currently) had been mentioned for the fundraising for the Nagasaki scheme.
Late last month, Nagasaki prefecture’s governor Kengo Oishi said that – after advice from “experts in law” – the local authorities took the view it would be “almost impossible” for Japan’s central authorities to reconsider their decision not to approve the conurbation’s plan, submitted in April 2022.
According to GGRAsia’s correspondent, Mr Oishi might confirm on Wednesday a decision not to appeal about the matter.
Last week a meeting of the prefecture’s general affairs commitee heard that the local authority was to “downsize” this year the IR Promotion Division, and rename it as the “IR Office”.
The Nagasaki IR project was due to be on land at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park (pictured), in Sasebo city, which is part of the prefecture.
The prefecture had said that the “financial arrangers” for the project included Credit Suisse AG, CBRE, and Cantor Fitzgerald Securities Japan Co Ltd.
