Candidates of the Osaka Restoration Association or Osaka Ishin no Kai won out over their challengers in the April 7 election, in a positive outcome for supporters of an integrated resort in the region. The Liberal Democratic Party slate also supported an IR, but with less zeal; according to GGRAsia, “the LDP’s backing has reportedly been more nuanced.”
The winning team, led by Hirofumi Yoshimura and Ichiro Matsui, want to fast-track an IR and ideally would like to see it open in time for the next World Expo, which will go off on Yumeshima Island in 2025. That’s been seen as some as overly optimistic; a Japan-based consultant from business services firm EY said 2027 is a more realistic target for the opening, and Brendan Bussmann, government affairs director for Global Market Advisors, recently warned IR hosts and developers to take their time. “Japan has the opportunity to create IR 2.0 in terms of design, scope, and offerings,” he said. “I do not believe they would like to see that next standard compromised.”
The main goal of the winning team is to merge Osaka city and prefecture under one government, like Tokyo. Yoshimura and Matsui essentially swapped roles; they were the incumbent mayor and governor of Osaka before the election, and resigned to run for each other’s jobs.
Election results in Hokkaido also were positive for IR boosters. Naomichi Suzuki, former mayor of Yubari City and member of the current ruling party, is bullish on an IR development. According to Inside Asian Gaming, “operators around the world will be watching closely to see what type of policy he will formulate for such a project going forward.”
Some potential host sites have been ruled out during the first round of elections. Shizuoka City’s pro-IR candidate Shingo Amano was defeated by incumbent Mayor Nobuhiro Tanabe. However, according to AGBNippon.com, most Shizuoka City residents rejected their former mayor’s plan to use an IR bid to revitalize the local economy.
Shizuoka City’s withdrawal from the IR race may be good news for Makinohara City, also in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is expected to launch its own IR bid.
In other Japan gaming news, the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo City has announced that it has entered into a basic agreement to sell part of its land for facility construction if Nagasaki Prefecture succeeds in its IR bid.
Huis Ten Bosch President Hideo Sawada says the park “will not be participating as an operator, but if there is a request we may be involved in part of the facility’s operations. We would expect it to be able to attract between one and two million visitors annually.”
Sasebo City Mayor Norio Tomonaga is enthusiastic about the idea. “I have been researching the matter of IRs for over a decade,” he has said. “I would like to win in the regional competition.”
By August the national government should disclose its selection process for the first three integrated resorts. The RFP stage, in which local governments will solicit bids from would-be commercial partners, is expected to start in November or December.
