Image by Nagatoshi Shimamura

Yokohama, Nagasaki Continue Push for IR Licensing

Article by : Helen Dec 23, 2020

• 
• 

Japan never has had a legal casino on its shores but could have three within five years. Nagasaki and Yokohama officials recently fine-tuned their respective integrated resorts (IR) proposals with the clear aim of becoming among the first three Japanese cities to host IR destinations that include gaming operations.

A third location, Osaka, also is making a strong move to be among the first cities to host federally licensed casino resorts that generally are modeled after similar properties in Las Vegas and Singapore.

Yokohama is located in Japan’s National Capital area, which includes Tokyo. Tokyo is the host site of the 2021 Summer Olympics and has a population base of about 40 million people living in and near it. That includes Yokohama and its 3.7 million residents and represents about a third of Japan’s total population.

With a global Olympics event planned as soon as the global COVID-19 pandemic is under full control, development plans need to move forward in locations that are likely to gain one of the three initial IR licenses issued by the Japanese federal government. Yokohama officials recently drafted a framework from which potential development can move forward once the federal government gives the final okay to do so. That could happen soon after the new year, and Yokohama officials want to be ready.

Yokohama is situated about a 30-minute drive south of Tokyo and has ample rail and road connections for easy conveyance of large groups of people. Yokohama has outstanding port facilities and Japan’s largest and busiest airport, Haneda nearby. Excellent private and public transportation systems ensure swift transport from the airport to Yokohama and beyond at any hour of the day or night.

With the Olympics slated to happen in 2021, Yokohama officials are working hard to secure one of the three IR licenses and stand a very good chance of doing so.

The Yokohama plan includes a 1.1-million square-foot convention center that would rival the world’s largest and best run. Local officials estimate the IR with a casino and world-class convention center would generate more than $8 billion annually in revenues.

As Japan prepares to host the upcoming Summer Olympics, it wants IR projects that will last long afterward and help to boost international tourism. The IR projects generally are to include exhibition space, luxury hotels, entertainment venues, and world-class food and beverage. They also must provide culturally relevant attractions, such as theme parks.

The Nagasaki IR plan proposes to take advantage of the world’s more than 1 billion global tourists and rising international tourism within Asia. Nagasaki is Japan’s “gateway to the west” and very conveniently located near South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Those three nations account for the greatest influx of international visitors to Japan, and Nagasaki’s IR plan intends to capitalize on the city’s very ideal location.

Nagasaki has a fantastic natural harbor and port facilities plus a thoroughly modern and world-class airport. That makes it very easy to enable international visitors from nearby Asian nations to take relatively short flights to Nagasaki for conventions, exhibitions, meetings, and general tourism. The city is experiencing a population decline and wants the IR project to create a globally competitive tourist destination for Japan’s entire Kyushu region.