The governor of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture says he expects it to sit out the next round of applications for the right to host an integrated resort (IR) with casino – likely to start in May 2027 and run until November that year – on the basis the timeline is “too tight”.
Another Japanese location, Fukuoka, seems to have ruled out entirely the idea of applying, with the city’s mayor, Soichiro Takashima, describing his community as “relatively conservative”.
The information on both is from local media reports reviewed by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
On December 23, Izumi Miyazaki, Wakayama prefecture’s governor, spoke about IR policy in one of his regular press briefing sessions.
He stated: “The prefecture now has come to think that it should pass the IR application window the government plans to set.”
He added, referring to Japan’s first – and so far only IR – currently under construction and due to launch in late 2030: “I would like to see what happens with the Osaka IR opening.”
Wakayama’s likely stance of sitting out the next round was “mainly because the timeline is too tight for the prefecture to prepare an IR District Development Plan.”
The latter is a proposal that qualifying local governments – either prefectures or ordinance-designated cities – must submit to the national authorities before they can be considered as IR hosts.
Mr Miyazaki nonetheless noted: ‘The prefecture has not completely ruled out the possibility of making an application.
“The prefecture could think of it, if major… corporations want to work with the prefecture.”
The latter was a reference to the fact that under Japan’s enabling legislation for casino business, the country’s IRs are conceived as partnerships between local governments and the commercial sector.
In April 2022, the prefectural assembly of Wakayama – a settlement on the southeastern coast of Honshu, the country’s main island – rejected the local government’s then-plan for a casino resort in that community, prior to the first round of applications being opened.
In March 2022, United States-based casino operator Bally’s Corp had expressed interest in developing an IR in Fukuoka, located on the northern coast of Kyushu, Japan’s most southerly main island.
On December 22 this year, Fukuoka city mayor Mr Takashima spoke about IR policy during one of his own regular briefings.
“The city has never thought about IR in the past and will never think about IR in the future,” he was quoted as saying by Japanese media.
He added: “I know possible contributions an IR can bring to the city. But the city is relatively conservative and I do not expect people to support the policy.”
In August this year, another location on Kyushu – Yokosuka – had been mentioned in media reports as a possible contender for the new IR application round.
But the mayor of Yokosuka city has described as “inappropriate” the idea of developing an IR on the site of the Oppama Plant of vehicle maker Nissan Motor Co Ltd.
Hokkaido prefecture and Nagasaki prefecture have respectively been mentioned in Japanese media reports as likely to apply in the new IR application round. Hokkaido’s governor Naomich Suzuki said in late November that his priority was pressing ahead with preparations for application, even before any application date was announced.
