Nagasaki IR plans still waiting for approval

The Nagasaki prefecture has still received no decision from the national government on its integrated resort (IR) application.

Japan.- The future of Nagasaki’s IR plans remains uncertain. Osaka’s integrated resort (IR) project has been approved and a draft agreement is expected by September, but Japan’s central government has yet to make a decision on Nagasaki’s application, and no timeline has been provided.

Nagasaki submitted its IR District Development Plan alongside Osaka’s last year, aiming to partner with Casinos Austria International Japan Inc and open the IR by 2027. However, funding for the JPY438.3bn (US$3.8bn) development has not been publicly confirmed and the delay in approval makes a 2027 opening unlikely.

Nagasaki’s financial arrangements involve entities such as Credit Suisse AG, CBRE, and Cantor Fitzgerald Securities Japan Co.

Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura says the government and its IR partner, an MGM-Orix consortium, will finalise a draft agreement for project implementation by September. This will outline the development schedule, which has already received national government approval. Opening is slated for the first half of 2030, according to MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle.