Osaka on the bid

Official interest in hosting an Integrated Resort (IR) in Osaka came out strong in the second round of public hearings currently being held in Japan, Japan Times reported yesterday.
Osaka’s Governor Ichiro Matsui was said to be leading the effort to get one of the first licenses for an IR in the country, which the Japanese government claims is likely to be granted to only two or three locations in the first stage.
To push its bid, it has also been reported that the municipality has already drawn up plans to host an IR on Yumeshima Island, located in Osaka Bay, in addition to expecting that its bid to host the 2025 World Expo – which will be awarded in November 2018 – leaves it in a strong position to receive one of the licenses.
During the public hearing, which drew to a close last Friday, concerns about problem gambling, floor layouts, and the places where the resorts would likely be more profitable were raised.
Business groups, which are basically in favour of casinos, have raised concerns about a recommendation issued by Japan’s special government committee conducting the hearings, that a limit needs to be set on floor space.
In a written statement to the hearing, the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives suggests that capping the amount of floor space that can be used for casino services, rather than limiting the total floor space of a casino, could be considered.
Popular opposition to the bill remains, however, strong.
According to Japan Times, a Jiji Press poll conducted last week showed that some 67 per cent of the respondents were against the opening of casinos in their neighbourhoods, fearing that it could lead to a rise in crime.
In previous comments to Business Daily, an advisor to Japan’s government on the bill, Toru Mihara, said that ‘feelings may change depending on how you explain, persuade, and present merits and demerits.’
After Tokyo and Osaka, the committee overseeing the gaming regulatory process is to hold the next hearings in Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, Nagoya, Toyama, and Takamatsu.
The hearings started on August 17 and will be conducted until August 29.
The upper House of the Japanese Parliament, the Diet, will be discussing the details of the bill this autumn, and is expected to finalize the bill by the end of 2017.