Yokohama mayor confirms IR bid schedule

“We will not review the schedule for the IR bid during the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak,” Mayor Hayashi said.

Japan.- Yokohama Mayor, Fumiko Hayashi, has confirmed that the Covid-19 outbreak will not change the schedule of the prefecture’s bid to develop an IR. 

“We will not review the schedule for the IR bid during the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak,” Hayashi said in a press briefing.

“The government says it will not change the period of January to July of next year for the applications.

“As a city, we are now moving toward a decision, and we cannot move the schedule because we need to meet the country’s schedule. We cannot stop now,” he added.

Despite the virus outbreak, Hayashi and the government have encountered other challenges along the way, with anti-casino protesters demanding plans be put on hold.

As Focus Gaming News informed last week, the activists have said that they will halt protest plans until September but are disappointed that the Yokohama municipal government has refused the citizen groups’ call to delay its own policies.

“I would like to examine the situation with consideration for the state of the nation. Right now, I will not change the schedule,” Hayashi confirmed.