Hokkaido’s governor has confirmed that the prefecture will not be applying for an IR licence for now but says he would reconsider a project in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Japan.- After excluding the potential development of an integrated resort from the prefecture’s 2021 budget<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, Hokkaido’s governor Naomichi Suzuki has confirmed that the prefecture does not intend to bid for a licence in the first round of Japan’s IR process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suzuki met directly with the mayor of Tomakomai, Hirofumi Iwakura, to confirm that the city will not take part in the initial round of bids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He put the decision down to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic onthe the business environment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Iwakura is said to be “very disappointed”. Suzuki told him that he would reconsider the project in seven years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said: “My hope for an IR project remains unchanged<\/strong>. I would like to work toward an IR concept that would be unique to Hokkaido.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, the city of Tomakomai had indicated that it was willing to bear the maintenance cost of roads, water, and sewage facilities<\/a><\/em> in an attempt to gain support for an IR development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Japan plans to initially approve three integrated resorts in the country<\/strong>. Proposals must include a casino, tourism attractions, hotels and meetings spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are currently seven potential locations in the running. Nagasaki<\/strong> is one of the favourites to win a licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In February, an official confirmed that all five of the contenders to become its private partner had qualified to progress to the next phase<\/a><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As for Osaka<\/strong>, local authorities have dropped the target opening date for its IR project, pushing it back to March 2027<\/a><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nJapan’s IR developments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n