Japan’s Wakayama signals that it would support casino resort bid
Wakayama Governor Izumi Miyazaki said the prefecture would cooperate with Kasumigaseki Capital if the company decides to pursue an integrated resort at Marina City.
Japan.- Wakayama Governor Izumi Miyazaki said the prefecture would be prepared to support a bid to develop an integrated resort with a casino at Wakayama Marina City, provided the initiative is led by the site’s new private-sector owner.
The comments followed an August 21 announcement that Fav Hospitality Group, a unit of Tokyo-listed real estate developer Kasumigaseki Capital, had acquired 100 per cent of Wakayama Marina City Co Ltd. The company operates the artificial island in Wakayama Bay that was selected as the proposed location for Wakayama’s previous IR proposal.
Miyazaki said the prefecture continues to see Marina City as a potential major resort and tourism hub, adding that Wakayama and Wakayama City would support Kasumigaseki Capital in further developing the site.
“If Kasumigaseki Capital wishes to have an IR in Wakayama Marina City, the prefecture should cooperate to go ahead with it,” the governor said.
Wakayama had been identified as a potential IR host as early as 2019, but the prefectural assembly rejected the proposed casino resort plan in April 2022, preventing the prefecture from submitting an application during Japan’s first IR selection round. Miyazaki said in December 2025 that Wakayama was likely to sit out the next application round, scheduled to run from May 6 to November 5, 2027, because the available timeline was too tight.
