The Japanese city of Osaka has identified land on Osaka Bay for a resort casino, joining more than a dozen jurisdictions around the country maneuvering for position as potential hosts of a market that could be worth US$40 billion-plus over the next decade.
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, a member of the right-leaning, pro-casino Japan Restoration Party, told Reuters that officials will meet next week to review and approve the 170-hectare site in Yumeshima.
“It’s about time that as a city we narrow down the candidate sites,” he said as Japan’s parliament, the Diet, prepares to debate a bill that would start the legalization process.
A cross-party coalition of lawmakers led by leaders of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party expect debate to begin later this month or early in May on an initial authorization measure that was introduced in December with the aim to secure passage before the Diet adjourns in June. This would be followed by a second bill in 2015 to guide the bidding process and establish a licensing and regulatory regime.
“Initially, casinos should be created in three or so locations and the number should gradually increase if their operations prove successful,” a key member of the coalition said.
Osaka, along with Tokyo, is expected to be in the forefront of the process, and Mr Matsui said, “We have reached the point where we need to start accepting proposals.”
In Tokyo, the Odaiba area along Tokyo Bay is believed to be the preferred location, but officials have yet to formally name a site, and Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe has not yet spoken publicly on the issue. Advocates there want to have a resort up and running in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Both cities have attracted intense interest from an A-list of global operators.
At Yumeshima, Mr Matsui said he would like to see a unique project that highlights local elements such as Osaka’s renowned cuisine. He expects prospective licensees to commit to invest more than 500 billion yen (US$4.91 billion) to make it happen and pick up some infrastructure costs as well, mainly to extend rail service to the area.
“That will be for the negotiations,” he said. “Right now we have many companies that want to make proposals. I’d like to see those first.”
The English-language Japan Times, meanwhile, says some nine other locales are making preparations to host casinos, and national daily Asahi Shimbun reports that six of them—Hokkaido, the prefectures of Chiba, Nagasaki and Okinawa and the cities of Yokohama and Chiba—have already budgeted casino-related studies this year.
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