Wakayama Governor says bribe scandal will not affect IR plans

Governor Nisaka says the scandal won’t impact Wakayama’s IR plans

Japan.- After Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said that the bribery case involving Chinese online gaming firm 500.com will not impact the IR schedule, Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka of Wakayama Prefecture has also tried to calm the storm.

Nisaka confirmed that the scandal won’t have consequences on Wakayama’s IR plans and that there has been no connection between the Chinese company and its proposals.

“If there was a similar incident involving public construction, would you stop all construction in its tracks?”, he answered when the media asked about the bribe scandal. “There will likely be no delay,” he added.

There are a lot of cities looking to gain approval for the construction of one of three IRs in the country. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the prefectures of Hokkaido, Nagasaki, Osaka, Wakayama have shown interest. As have cities such as Chiba, Nagoya, Osaka and Yokohama.

The government will authorize a maximum of three locations and local authorities that want to present proposals for integrated resort licences can do so from January 4 through July 30, 2021.