Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, who has campaigned long and hard for an integrated resort for the city and prefecture, says that effort is on hold for now, and staffers who had been working on IR bid have been reassigned to help with the Covid-19 pandemic. A day later, Yokohama pushed back the selection of its operator from June to August.
MGM Resorts International is the only global operator actively seeking to develop an IR in Osaka, in partnership with Japanese financial services company Orix. Both MGM and Osaka had pushed for an early opening of the IR, to coincide with the planned World Expo in 2025. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, government officials and MGM executives agreed that timeline was unreasonable. It seems likely plans will be even further delayed due to the virus, which prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency in the country.
In response to Abe’s announcement, Yoshimura stated, “The situation in the United States means that work between MGM and Osaka is unlikely to proceed for the moment. We have postponed talks. Those staff who were working on the IR bid will now work on the corona crisis.”
According to GGRAsia, he said the team has secured “accommodation facilities, hotels, for treating mild and asymptomatic patients, and so far we have a total of 98 businesses offering help—a total of 202 facilities and 21,000 rooms.”
Yoshimura called the countermeasure “a matter of national emergency” and said the coronavirus “needs to be stopped. …. We all have to work together.”
In Yokohama, despite the delay, Mayor Fumiko Hayashi said it would not impact the timeline to actually build and open an IR in the city because the federal government doesn’t require cities desiring a license to apply for them until January 2021.
At the same time, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kazuyoshi Akaba insists there will be no change in the nation’s IR development schedule as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
“I have heard that each local government is making their preparations and the current situation is not hindering them,” the minister stated.
The viral outbreak has not kept casino opponents from registering their protests. In Wakayama, a new citizens group called “Stop Casino Wakayama Association” has staged the first of a series of organized campaign street protests.
The first event attracted 20 people who assembled outside Wakayama Castle and gathered signatures from passersby who are opposed to local IR development. One group representative told local media, “In Osaka and Yokohama, the movement to bid for an IR has been stalled due to the influence of the new coronavirus, but Wakayama is promoting these activities regardless. If we accept an IR, we will not be able to turn back even if they create great harm later, so we must speak out against them now.”
