Tetsuo Saito, a member of Japan’s conservative political party, Komeito, will stay on as minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In that capacity, Saito will oversee the country’s casino liberalization effort, which could see two integrated resorts (IRs) developed in Osaka and Nagasaki.
The ministry is currently evaluating two IR bids submitted in late April. Osaka chose MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp. as its IR partners. If licensed by the central government, the partners would build and operate an IR with casino on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay.
The only other bid came from Nagasaki, which selected Casinos Austria as its partner to develop an IR complex at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo City.
According to GGRAsia, there is also a new chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, which oversees the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission. Kouichi Tani succeeds Satoshi Ninoyu in the role.
In addition, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has announced a new executive office lineup, including a role for Koichi Hagiuda, a key promoter of the casino policy during the second cabinet of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe. Hagiuda, former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, takes a position as the chair of the Policy Research Council of the LDP.
When Japan legalized casino resorts in 2016, it expected multiple bidders from around the world and a first phase of development that included three IRs, plus a provision to add more developments after seven years.
Covid-19 put a damper on the market, and multiple big-name gaming operators withdrew from the competition or chose not to participate. The slower launch has led to speculation that Japan might reopen the bidding process once the current applications have been decided.
MGM said in June it expected the Japanese national authorities to make an announcement in the fall regarding the country’s first casino licenses.
