Japan: opposition leader fights IR project

Yukio Edano, leader of a new opposition party, spoke against IRs on a visit to Yokohama.

Japan.- Yukio Edano, the leader of new opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, has spoken against IR developments in the country.

During a visit to Yamashita Pier, one of the sites proposed for Yokohama’s IR bid, the politician said: “I confirmed the state of the surrounding environment and its distance to neighboring facilities. There is no reason to bring a casino here and to destroy these beautiful views.”

Edano also had a meeting with Yokohama Harbor Resort Association Chairman Yukio Fujiki, a major opponent to the city’s IR project.

Edano added: “The casino issue is symbolic of the clear confrontational axis between top-down politics and grassroots politics . . . We cannot let matters continue as they have under the Abe administration.”

The comments come after the favourite to replace Shinzo Abe as Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, said he supported the IR development policy.