The commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, Naoya Haraikawa, said on Wednesday that a new round of applications in the country for local governments intending to host an integrated resort (IR) with a casino “should not be far off”.
His comments were made during a keynote speech at a tourism promotion forum in Hokkaido, as reported by the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper.
It was the first time that an official from Japan’s national government openly said the authorities were considering launching a new round of IR applications, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
The Japan Tourism Agency is a body under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The agency coordinated the first round of local-government applications for IR projects in Japan, which concluded in 2023. It resulted in two submissions – for IRs in Osaka and Nagasaki – and one successful applicant: Osaka metropolis, via its prefectural and city governments, and the JPY1.27-trillion (US$8.76-billion currently) MGM Osaka project, scheduled to open in 2030.
Japan’s legal framework allows for up to three IR licences to be issued.
In his Wednesday comments, Mr Haraikawa said: “It is true that the revenue engine of IRs is the casino. However, what the government wants is to develop new tourist hubs equipped with other attractive tourism facilities in one place.”
He added: “The next round of IR applications should not be far off.”
According to a report last month by the Hokkaido Shimbun, 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 up to two new locations “by December 2027”.
Mr Haraikawa was previously involved in much of the country’s work concerning IR policy and regulation. He led efforts between July 2018 and July 2020 at the now-disbanded Office of Integrated Resort Regime Promotion, and also coordinated work at the Japan Tourism Agency regarding the legalisation of complexes with casinos.
Between June 2022 and July 2023, he led the Japan Tourism Agency team that evaluated the respective IR District Development Plans of Osaka city and prefecture, and of Nagasaki prefecture, as part of the first IR application round.
He was appointed head of the Japan Tourism Agency in July 2024.
Suguru Kanazawa, the new mayor of the city of Tomakomai, in Hokkaido prefecture, stated in February that the local authorities would continue preparatory work tied to their long-expressed aim of building an IR there.
Earlier this month, the Hokkaido Economic Federation expressed its support for a casino resort in the region. The federation was one of the organisers of the tourism forum at which Mr Haraikawa made his comments regarding a new round of IR bids.
Wakayama’s new governor, Izumi Miyazaki, stated last week that the prefecture’s authorities would be open to considering whether to join a potential new round of IR applications.
