Japan’s Wakayama prefectural authorities would be open to assessing whether to join a potential new round of local-government applications for the right to have an integrated resort (IR) with a casino. That is according to the prefecture’s new governor, Izumi Miyazaki.
In 2022, Wakayama (pictured) withdrew from a bid to host an IR, after the local assembly voted against participating in Japan’s initial application round to host such complexes.
“The prefecture will look into whether it should try pursuing an IR again from scratch,” Mr Miyazaki said on Thursday, during a plenary meeting of the prefectural assembly, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
He added: “Generally speaking, hosting an IR in the prefecture should bring positive economic benefits.
“On the other hand, there are concerns regarding an IR, such as the possibility of gambling addiction, traffic congestion, and labour shortages in industries other than the IR.”
His stance on the matter echoes that of his predecessor, the late Shuhei Kishimoto, who died suddenly in April this year due to illness.
Mr Miyazaki was elected governor in June. He had previously served under Mr Kishimoto as a deputy governor of the Wakayama prefecture.
Mr Kishimoto had only taken office as governor in December 2022, following Wakayama’s decision not to apply for an IR in the first round.
According to a report last month by the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, Japan’s national government has set a policy goal of initiating a new application process for casino resorts this year, with the aim of approving as many as two new locations “by December 2027”, to supplement the under-development MGM Osaka project.
Suguru Kanazawa, the new mayor of the Japanese city of Tomakomai, in Hokkaido prefecture, had mentioned in February the local authorities would continue preparatory work tied to their long-expressed aim of building an IR there. In 2019, Hokkaido dropped out of contention prior to Japan’s first round of local-government applications for the right to have a casino complex.
To date, only one Japan IR – the JPY 1.27-trillion (US$8.60 billion currently) MGM Osaka, at Yumeshima in Osaka – has been approved by the national authorities. Its main promoters, MGM Resorts International – parent of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd – and Japan’s Orix Corp, are targeting a 2030 launch.
Japan’s legal framework allows for up to three IR licences to be issued.
