Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The agreement has been formalized that will see Nagasaki Prefecture tie up with Casinos Austria International in a joint application to the central government to receive one of the three available licenses to open an Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino.
Nagasaki Governor Hodo Nakamura commented, “Nagasaki Prefecture has entered into a master agreement with Casinos Austria International Japan to develop and operate the Kyushu-Nagasaki IR. The operator’s business proposal is backed by a business track record in Europe and other international markets and aims to realize a traditional and luxurious integrated resort of the world’s highest standard in harmony with the landscape of Huis Ten Bosch. We will now proceed with the area development plan to be submitted for approval before April 28 of next year.”
He added, “We will work to realize the Kyushu-Nagasaki IR with the highest regard for strict measures to mitigate public concerns such as gambling addiction. The Kyushu-Nagasaki IR will vitalize the local economy and tourism industry affected by Covid, and also contribute to the development of the Kyushu region and furthermore our country.”
Should it be licensed by the central government, the plan calls for the construction of an IR on a 31 hectare plot of land next to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo city.
The theme of the development is “a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures achieving a true Japanese-Western mix.” Its most prominent feature is the high-rise Crystal Tower Hotel within which a Hyatt hotel, one of the projects partners, will evidently be located.
The plan calls for a total of seven accommodation facilities, including a new luxury inn and the renovation of the existing Hotel Europe.
In addition, the master design includes an international conference hall with a maximum of 6,000 seats and an exhibition hall with a total area of 20,000 square meters, all equipped with cutting edge technologies. Beyond that, there are to be multiple indoor and outdoor facilities, including the Palace Huis Ten Bosch Museum, a concert hall, a medical mall, and something called the Japan House, Japan Square, and Japan Street at which “a wide variety of programs” can be featured. These apparently include programs related to kabuki, anime, and various games.
Finally, covering about 3% of the total area of the IR will be the casino, which we are told will be built “with an Austrian design.”
The total construction cost for the facility is estimated to be at about ¥350 billion (US$3.2 billion) and, presuming that the Covid pandemic is overcome by the second half of this decade, the annual number of visitors from both Japan and abroad is anticipated to be about 8.4 million people.
“Based in Nagasaki, we will realize a ‘tourism industrial revolution’ and aim to become a world city where Kyushu, Japan, Asia, and the world all merge,” proclaims one of the documents of the prefectural government.
The decision to quickly sign the master agreement with Casinos Austria, however, does not sit well with the two rival consortiums which have alleged improper behavior on the part of the prefectural government.
Koji Ishikawa, acting as an attorney on behalf of the Oshidori International Development consortium, told the local media that the allegations are “problems related to our trustworthiness and honor” (apparently referring to the Japanese people in general) and he added that “the investigations to confirm the relationship with antisocial forces have not been conducted based on facts.”
A senior executive within the Niki Chyau Fwu (Parkview) consortium, responding to an interview request from Akihabara News, responded by saying, “we still do not think the process was properly done, but too bad.”
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