On June 27, an anti-casino group in Osaka, Japan reiterated that it has gathered more than the required number of signatures on a petition seeking to halt an integrated resort (IR) in the city.
According to GGRAsia, the group has amassed more than the 2 percent threshold of “effective” local-voter signatures necessary to seek a referendum on the matter.
The group, which calls itself No! Osaka IR/Casino, was established with the blessing of Osaka city council member Hirotoshi Kawashima (LDP) and former Osaka vice governor Tadakazu Konishi, according to Inside Asian Gaming. In a statement the group said, “The Osaka IR/casino plan has deviated significantly from what it was initially, losing its international competitive edge and failing to comply with the standards stipulated by the national government.
“There is also a clear issue with the massive public fund injection.” That was a reference to an August 2021 announcement by Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui that a police station would be built with public funds at Yumeshima to support the venue of the Osaka/Kansai Expo in 2025 and the planned IR.
As of June 6, the group announced it had collected more than 208,500 signatures and submitted them to the prefecture for verification.
The statement continued, “The national government is adamant that there must be a consensus formed with the local residents but the explanations from Osaka prefecture and city have been inadequate, even leading to a petition with 210,000 signatures directly requesting a referendum, so it can’t be said that the residents’ consent has been obtained.”
Members now want Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura to prepare for a referendum, even though he has said he doesn’t think a vote is warranted. The Osaka Restoration Association, which supports the plan to build an IR on Yumeshima Island, now holds a majority of seats in the Osaka prefectural assembly. And in February, Osaka’s city council voted against a bid to get a referendum on the IR issue.
Osaka IR, a partnership of U.S.-based MGM Resorts International and Japan’s Orix Corp., has submitted a bid to develop a $9 billion IR on the island in Osaka Bay. They estimate that 20 million people will visit each year, with annual sales of JPY 520 billion (US$3.8 billion) and economic ripple effects of JPY 1.14 trillion (US$8.4 billion) per year.
