A day ahead of the April 28 deadline, Osaka and Nagasaki prefectures in Japan submitted their integrated-resort (IR) development proposals to the central government. A would-be third bidder, Wakayama, withdrew just days before the deadline.
Up to three IR licenses were up for grabs in the first phase of Japan’s casino industry, but there are no guarantees that both or either of the current bidders will win the right to develop an IR complex with casino.
The Nagasaki IR, which would be located at the Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch amusement park in Sasebo City, comes with a price tag of JPY 438.3 billion (US$3.4 billion). Nagasaki’s private-sector consortium partner is SPC Kyushu Resorts led by Casinos Austria International Japan (CAIJ). The IR is targeted to open in the fall of 2027. Projections put annual sales at JPY 272 billion (US$2.1 billion) in the complex’s fifth year based on an estimated 6.73 million annual visitors with an economic ripple effect of JPY 323 billion (US$2.5 billion). Some funding will come from CBRE Group, a U.S.-based commercial real estate services and investment firm. Nagasaki Governor Kengo Oishi said planners were unable to name the other funding sources because they requested anonymity.
Osaka’s resort complex, to be sited at Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay, would require an initial investment of JPY 1.08 trillion and has a scheduled opening date of 2029. The Osaka IR would be developed by U.S.-based casino operator MGM Resorts International with local partner Orix Corp. Other consortium members include Kansai Electric Power, Panasonic, Kintetsu Group Holdings and NTT West. The list of investors includes Obayashi, Takenaka Corp., Taisei Corp., Osaka Gas, JR West and JTB.
Annual visitation to the Osaka IR is estimated at 20 million, with annual sales of JPY 520 billion (US$4.1 billion) and a local economic benefit of JPY 1.14 trillion (US$9.0 billion).
Wakayama’s IR plan was scuttled due to lawmakers’ concern about available funding for the project, which was to have been developed by Canadian-based Clairvest Neem Ventures. The plan called for an IR in Marina City, at a cost of JPY 470 billion (US$3.6 billion). The prefecture aimed to launch operations in the fall of 2027.
Wakayama may be down, but it may not be out. Last Tuesday, Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka said the prefecture should not “give away” the chance to one day host a casino complex. “The prefectural assembly voted against the plan. But most of them are in favor of IR and just against the plan and the group behind it.
“Some of them say that there is a possibility of the prefecture doing IR again in a better way,” said Nisaka, a strong supporter of the IR plan as an economic driver. “We can give it another try if the new opportunity comes, because an IR is necessary for spurring regional revitalization.”
Originally, Phase 2 of IR licensing was to have taken place seven years after the first resorts opened, based on their success. According to GGRAsia, there is speculation that the central government could open up a second round of applications sooner than expected to give other interested regions a chance to bid, possibly including Tokyo.
Meanwhile, the existing applicants must each undergo two rounds of assessment by national authorities before any licenses are awarded.
