Yokohama City Council has passed a supplementary budget of JPY260 million for costs related to the recently announced IR bid.
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito both voted for the budget on Friday, according to the Asahi Shimbun, with the city now set to start full-scale planning for attracting an IR.
Yokohama is currently the only city in the Tokyo metropolitan area that has publicly declared it will aim for an IR bid. However, many residents have objected to the sudden change in direction of Mayor Fumiko Hayashi by pushing forward with the bid announcement in August after refraining from making any comments on the subject before or during the election.
On Friday, around 650 people from opposing citizen groups protested at the city hall for the casino decision to be retracted, the rally’s organizers said.
Once the budget was voted on and passed, Mayor Hayashi stressed she “believes that the supplementary budget does reflect the will of the citizens,” based on the fact that elected city council members passed it.
In the future she is planning to hold public IR briefings to try and obtain understanding from voters.
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