{"id":30240,"date":"2022-05-30T01:55:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T04:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=30240"},"modified":"2026-04-23T08:19:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:19:38","slug":"osaka-citizens-push-for-ir-referendum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/osaka-citizens-push-for-ir-referendum","title":{"rendered":"Osaka citizens push for IR referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group has gathered the necessary number of signatures to request a referendum, but Osaka authorities are likely to reject it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Japan.- Although\u00a0plans to develop an IR in Osaka<\/a>\u00a0have already been approved and submitted to national authorities, residents continue to push for a referendum on the matter. A group has gathered 157,716 signatures calling for a referendum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, casino executive Daniel Cheng told Asian Gaming Brief,\u00a0a referendum is unlikely to be granted, even if the governor risks not being re-elected in 2023. A previous request for a referendum<\/a> made\u00a0by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was rejected by 58 out of 83 votes on Osaka’s council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in Yokohama, an anti-IR candidate buried plans to develop an IR there<\/a> after ousting the previous governor who had refused to hold a referendum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osaka’s operator partner, the\u00a0MGM-Orix<\/strong>\u00a0consortium, has proposed to invest\u00a0JPY1tn (US$9.1bn)<\/strong>\u00a0in the planned IR. The proposed site is an artificial island: Dream Island, in Osaka Bay. The project has a target date of opening in 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides Osaka,\u00a0Nagasaki is the only other city<\/a>\u00a0to have submitted IR District Development Plans approved by local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The method established by the national government in December 2020 states that the IR applications will be judged based on a points scale of up to 1,000 under five key criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n