Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Kishida administration has decided to approve a license to build Japan’s first major casino resort in Osaka, aiming for a grand opening in 2029.
“The Integrated Resort will attract many tourists and have an economic impact,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today. “It’s an important initiative for promoting ourselves as a tourism-oriented country.”
The official decision is expected to be announced tomorrow after a meeting with related government ministers.
With the pro-casino Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin) winning another double victory in the gubernatorial and mayoral races last Sunday, the final political hurdle was crossed.
Also quite helpful for the project is that voter exit polls in Osaka revealed that a clear majority of the prefecture’s residents now favor the project. Local polling in earlier years had shown inconclusive results.
The plan calls for the construction of a ¥1.08 trillion (US$8.1 billion) facility owned and operated by a consortium led by MGM Resorts International and the Orix Corporation. The construction site is on the manmade island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay (which will also host the 2025 World Expo). Once open, the casino resort is expected to draw in about 20 million visitors annually and strengthen Osaka’s tourism revenues.
The legislation authorizing the establishment of casino resorts, the Integrated Resort (IR) Implementation Act, was pushed through the National Diet by the Shinzo Abe administration over fierce opposition.
In January 2020, the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission was set up with a staff of about 160 people.
The fate of the other casino resort project that has applied for a license–which would be located next to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo city, Nagasaki–remains unclear. Reporting suggests that a final decision on that project will come at some later date.
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