Eight places in Japan are definitely considering seeking national government permission to host casino resorts, according to comments by Kazuyoshi Akaba, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, at a Tuesday press conference.
The eight places were: Hokkaido, Chiba city, Tokyo, Yokohama city, Nagoya city, Osaka, Wakayama, and Nagasaki. So said the minister, citing the results of a survey by the Japan Tourism Agency, according to information collated by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
The survey was carried out between September 9 and 19. Jiji Press news agency reported that the tourism body would conduct follow-up interviews with officials from the eight areas identified, in order to assess the progress of their planning.
A separate survey by Jiji Press indicated that the cities of Kawasaki, and of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, were also considering seeking permission to host a casino resort.
The central government plans to permit casino construction at up to three locations. Suitor places must first select private-sector partners before making their pitch to the national government.
Fitch Ratings Inc said in a report last week that Japan’s requirement that any casino operating licences issued in that country be subject to a renewal process every 10 years is the “biggest obstacle to securing bank financing” for schemes that are expected to cost many billions of U.S. dollars each.
