Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has signaled his support for predecessor Shinzo Abe’s pro-casino policy in an address before the lower house of the National Diet.
Suga told the assembled House of Representatives on October 28 that he considers the “integrated resorts, “as the casinos are styled for their planned emphasis on expansive non-gaming entertainment and cultural attractions, “an important initiative for Japan to become a developed tourist destination.”
The endorsement is expected to provide a badly needed boost for a liberalization plan that has lost momentum since the days when it was originally hoped the IRs would be open in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Abe government pushed for liberalizing Japan’s gaming market, where casinos currently are prohibited, as a tool to boost local economies by converting them into magnets for foreign tourism. But a series of political scandals intervened to mar the last years of his regime. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, shelving the Olympics, curtailing travel and wreaking havoc with the economy.
The prospects, which at one time had attracted the cream of the global gaming industry, have dimmed as well. Several leading operators, most notably Las Vegas Sands, have withdrawn from the running.
As it stands, three resorts have been approved for the country, and a number of cities are vying for them. But the pandemic has prompted the central government to delay considering bids until October 2021, which means it’s likely licenses won’t be awarded before the spring of 2022 at the earliest.
In the meantime, the initiative for selecting prospective developers remains with the local governments. There, too, the situation has been marked by fits and starts.
In Osaka, the country’s second-largest city and an acknowledged front-runner for a license, the fate of its IR bid was plunged into uncertainty this month after voters rejected a municipal reorganization plan pushed by pro-casino Mayor Ichiro Matsui and the governor of Osaka prefecture, Hirofumi Yoshimura, also strongly pro-casino. The plan for consolidating the city government with that of the prefecture was a central plank of Matsui’s administration and the political movement he heads, Osaka Ishin, and has prompted the mayor to announce his retirement when his term ends in April 2023.
“These developments cannot but have a negative impact on Osaka’s IR development, as almost every observer understands,” said industry news site Asia Gaming Brief. “It means that the men who established Osaka’s IR plans and remain its greatest champions have suddenly become lame ducks, and the political movement they lead is now facing an existential crisis.”
Others are more optimistic. “As the current governor and mayor will be in post until 2023, the time should be sufficient to conclude an implementation agreement with potential investors,” said Toru Mihara, a professor of public policy at Tokyo’s Toyo University, speaking to industry news site GGRAsia.
“There is no change in our basic policy regarding the IR business,” stated Orix Corporation, the Tokyo-listed financial services conglomerate that has partnered with MGM Resorts International on a resort proposal for the city.
The city of Nagasaki, meanwhile, has revived its bid with the formation of a public-private strategy group called the Kyushu IR Promotion Council.
A statement issued by Nagasaki Prefecture said the group “aims to create business opportunities and promote local procurement by building business networking strategies.” It added, “The council will be made up of economic organizations, local government and councils of Nagasaki prefecture and the Kyushu region and work to achieve these missions up until the time the national government approves the IR development plan.”
Currently, three consortiums are preparing bids for a Nagasaki IR, according to news reports.
