Anti-casino candidates defeated in Japan

The candidates that were openly against a casino in Yokohama lost the mayoral election hosted yesterday.

Japan.- Fumiko Hayashi, Mayor of Yokohama, won the local elections by a wide margin on Sunday. The candidate and current Mayor of the city that will serve his third term had initially expressed his support for an integrated resort in the zone, and later showed a neutral position.

Last week, it was revealed that two of the three candidates that were running for Mayor were against the approval of IRs in the city. One of the candidates, Kazuyoshi Nagashima, had launched his campaign under “No Casino” speech. Meanwhile, the second candidate, Hirotaka Ito, spread the slogan “Rather Than a Casino, Provide Lunches for Students,” but both of them were defeated by a wide margin.

It seems like even if he supports the initiative to host a casino, Hayashi changed his opinion to adjust the proposal of her opponents. As the national government is assessing further legislation to control the upcoming casino industry in Japan, the three potential hosts (Yokohama, Osaka and Tokyo) are also evaluating the benefits and controversy that the gaming sector could generate. Small cities in Japan have also joined the bidding process to obtain an Integrated Resort (IR) license once the government ends the legislative plans to implement the new gaming law.

There’s some concerns regarding potential prohibition to Japanese residents from gambling in local resorts that might be enforced in order to calm public fears on problem gambling. In that case, analysts say that the industry would depend on Chinese tourists, and the political relations between China and Japan.