Akihabara News (Tokyo) — As the main campaigning for the August 22 Yokohama mayoral race got underway, there were indications that former National Public Safety Commission Chairman Hachiro Okonogi had a slight edge over his two main rivals, opposition-supported Takeharu Yamanaka and incumbent Mayor Fumiko Hayashi.
The only serious polling has been an Asahi Shinbun telephone survey with found Okonogi to be slightly ahead and with both Yamanaka and Hayashi hot on his heels. But the Asahi itself noted that it was still a toss-up, since more than 50% of those surveyed hadn’t yet made up their minds.
The other five mayoral candidates were, as expected, found to be trailing far behind.
Okonogi and Yamanaka both oppose the plan to build an Integrated Resort (IR) including a casino at Yamashita Pier, while Hayashi is the main advocate of the project.
The same Asahi poll found 68% of the public opposed to a local casino and only 20% in favor, but with the anti-casino forces having split their votes among multiple candidates, the victory of pro-IR Hayashi is still by no means out of the question.
Bay City Ventures, a Tokyo-based consultancy that focuses on the gaming, sports, and entertainment industries, issued its own report to its clients and the media this week providing its insights on the crucial Yokohama mayoral race. The report was authored by Managing Director Joji Kokuryo.
Kokuryo notes that in spite of the fact that the Liberal Democratic Party Yokohama City Council members earlier rebelled against Okonogi’s anti-IR policy pledge, nevertheless, 30 of the 36 ruling party councilmen are backing him, while only 6 are sticking with the incumbent Hayashi. He concludes, “the organized support and votes from the LDP and its supporters clearly puts Okonogi in the driver seat to become the next mayor of Yokohama.”
Okonogi also has the backing of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other national lawmakers based in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Should Okonogi (or Yamanaka) indeed win the mayoral race and stick to his anti-casino stance, this will leave only Osaka, Wakayama, and Nagasaki as candidates for the three available IR licenses expected to be issued next year by the central government. It would also mean that all of the casinos opening in the country in the late 2020s or early 2030s would be located in western Japan.
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