Shizuoka prefecture’s Makinohara city has revealed its intention to pursue an IR bid.
“This is the perfect opportunity to create something prosperous,” said Mayor Kikuo Sugimoto, as reported by Nikkei. “We are looking forward to moving ahead with a more detailed proposal.”
However, as plans regarding a candidate location and project scale are yet to be decided, costs won’t be included in the 2019 budget. Any bidding activities by the city will be on the condition that Shizuoka prefecture is providing support and with nothing decided, the city will be in a rush to make arrangements with local entities.
In response to IAG’s inquiries, a representative of Makinohara city commented, “The city has not yet made any decisions regarding a direction for an IR and there are no actions to report. There is currently no IR department in place.”
But the city’s informal position is, “The mayor and people in senior positions may have something in mind.”
Shizuoka prefecture officials have stated they will “consider any proposal they are presented with.”
The General Strategy Division also told IAG, “The prefecture hasn’t taken any specific action regarding an IR. As the governor mentioned in his New Year greeting, if we are to consider an IR, the time is now, but we will only do so based on the desire of the local citizens. Without that we won’t proceed.
“At this point in time, Makinohara hasn’t finalized any policies regarding the issue. The same is true for the prefecture. Of course, the city of Makinohara is not the only one to make the decision in this case.”
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