Yokohama city has held its first public briefing on the city’s plans to develop an integrated resort, with Mayor Fumiko Hayashi among those in attendance at the Memorial Hall in Naka Ward on Wednesday.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Yokohama officials plan to hold similar briefing sessions in all 18 wards, starting with Naka Ward which is the location of the IR candidate site at Yamashita Pier. The sessions plan to explain the benefits to the local economy and tax revenue IRs provide, as well as countermeasures to problem gambling and security issues. Six wards will hold sessions in December, with discussions on Wednesday focusing on Hayashi’s ambition to create a new industry through its IR bid by building a substantial MICE facility and promoting tourism.
However, the afternoon wasn’t without incident as opposition groups vocally protested in front of the venue.
The Nikkei reports that on the same day, the Kanagawa Citizen Ombudsman filed a lawsuit at Yokohama District Court demanding that all information the city holds on integrated resorts are made public including a list of the operators who have registered to participate in the RFC.
Representative secretary Takashi Okawa said the fact that the names of operators had been redacted in information releases so far contradicted the Diet’s resolution regarding fairness and transparency in the process.
