At the city council standing committee this week, the City of Yokohama announced an amendment to the “Yokohama IR Direction,” which lays out the concept of the integrated resort (IR) facilities bid the city is aiming for.
Based on public comments, a contingency plan for infectious diseases has been added, while Yokohama also included an aim to become “Asia’s leading MICE city” and the establishment of dress codes in casinos. The policy of setting up a dress code in such an establishment is rare in Japan, and it will be interesting to see the reaction of operators.
Toshihide Hirahara, Deputy Mayor of Yokohama said, “We will make sure the IR is good for Yokohama.”
In response to the central government’s delay in formulating its policies, the City of Yokohama has postponed the publication of the Implementation Policy and the application guidelines for IR operators.
As there is still yet to be any change in the national application period, which currently stands at January to July 2021, the city’s implementation policy is set to be announced in August as scheduled.
However, as previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the central government has flagged the likelihood of the application period being delayed.
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