Governor is an independent
Yuriko Koike, the newly elected governor of Tokyo, says a casino in the Japanese capital would stoke the economy and boost tourism, according to GGRAsia.
Some members of the country’s governing Liberal Democratic Party as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe favor a plan to legalize casino gaming to boost the economy. Koike agrees that a casino project could “make the city more attractive” and attract “more visitors from overseas.”
Draft legislation to legalize casinos is held up in Japan’s Diet, or parliament. Historically, the LDP has faced off on the issue of gaming with the Komeito party as well as religious leaders.
The legalization of casinos in Japan would be a two-step process. An enabling bill would permit casino resorts. An implementation law would include the specifics, including how the resorts are administered and regulated. Now the Diet must make a move.
The earliest an integrated resort is likely to open would be in 2022, says Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen predicted. If the IR bill passes, Japan might consider two licenses to start, one for metropolitan Tokyo and another for Osaka, while licenses for smaller locations such as Hokkaido could be issued “at some later date,” the analyst said.
The two major contenders for these “mega-licenses” would be local firms Sega Sammy and Universal Entertainment. Sega Sammy is currently developing Paradise City in Incheon, South Korea while Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada’s Universal Entertainment is developing the Okada Manila resort in the Philippines’ Entertainment City district.
Some lawmakers had hoped to open a casino resort by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. But most analysts agree it’s unlikely the government could pass the legislation, take bids from operators and developers, go through the vetting process and see any resort open in time for the games.
