On August 26, Wakayama Prefecture in Japan formally partnered with an integrated resort (IR) consortium led by Clairvest Neem Ventures and the Clairvest Group. It was the first official agreement between a candidate location and an operator in the race to build up to three multibillion-dollar IRs in Japan.
The prefecture and the consortium will now jointly prepare an area development plan and apply to the national government by April 28, 2022, according to Inside Asian Gaming.
In a statement, Wakayama officials said, “Along with requesting further refinements to the proposals and enhancing the project implementation plan, we will seek to build an All-Wakayama Plan in which businesses in the prefecture can participate widely in enhancing the operation plan to ensure that there is contribution through development of the local economy and local employment.
“By holding briefing sessions, dependent on the coronavirus pandemic, we will convey accurate information on IR and the reasons why this prefecture is promoting the IR project to the prefecture residents.”
Nagasaki Prefecture, meanwhile, continues to defend the integrity of its RFP process for an integrated resort at Huis Ten Bosch, Sasebo City. Two of the three final candidates, Oshidori International Development and NIKI Chyau Fwu (Parkview) Group, claim that they were unfairly eliminated in a process they describe as cloaked in secrecy and vague threats.
Both Oshidori and NIKI have publicly stated they were told by Nagasaki officials there were “probity issues” in their bids, but weren’t told the nature of the issues or the identity of the outsourced company that conducted the investigations. Both bidders claim the prefecture “suggested” they withdraw their bids, otherwise the alleged probity issues would be made public.
An Oshidori spokesman told IAG, “The Nagasaki Prefecture has no other option at this point than to lie to cover up its corruption. We just feel bad for the people of Nagasaki because they deserve a better IR and a better government.”
Oshidori says Nagasaki wouldn’t disclose the “negative information” for “confidentiality” reasons. The spokesman said, “We would agree to waive our right to privacy so that the people of Nagasaki can see the charade being perpetrated by the prefecture.”
In the minutes of a July meeting viewed by IAG, a prefectural official informed NIKI representatives, “If you withdraw by 30 July, we will not announce that you were not selected due to the results of the integrity survey … but if you do not, we will announce it in the final announcement, we will announce we could not select you as a result of the integrity investigation.”
Other comments made by NIKI associates at the meeting include the following:
“You are so far below any standard of any gaming entity in the world. It is beyond belief!”
“This process has no transparency and is clearly sub-standard, with a threat to make a public statement to embarrass us and damage our reputation.”
“Legitimate investigators do not try to hide in the dark!”
“We had hoped to bring a world leading IR to Nagasaki, so this is profoundly disappointing. … We have limited choice but to go back, and speak with our counsel to try to determine what our legal rights are going forward.”
On August 10, Nagasaki chose European operator Casinos Austria, and officials insist they adhered to the “highest international standards” in their selection process.
“The prefecture will continue working in a fair and compliant manner with the most suitable partner, following the strict regulatory and licensing requirements as required by the national government,” they said.
