International Tourism Department to oversee Japan casino process

The government has rearranged the Japan Tourism Agency to form the new International Tourism Department to oversee the casino bidding process.

Japan.- The Japanese casino industry is soon to arrive but the government still needs to outline regulations. That’s why it has created the new International Tourism Department, to oversee the casino bidding process.

Director Hiroshi Tabata will lead 73 people in the new body. It will report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Furthermore, two counsellors will organise the IR industry, and provide outreach and cooperation to international organisations.

Delays in the Japanese casino industry

According to a new research brief released by Global Market Advisors (GMA), the 2025 opening target is far from reality. The establishment of Japan’s Casino Management Commission will be completed before 2020, but not by July 1 as officials planned. That would trigger “the process to move forward with the regulations and the RFP process” and “only delaying the process by a few months as opposed to a full year.”

“Even under the most aggressive timeline, it would have been a challenge to get an IR open on Yumeshima by 2025. That, should they be awarded one of the three coveted licences,” GMA said. “This is because of the challenges that would face any structure of this magnitude being built anywhere in Japan. Let alone a man-made island that may have its own challenges in construction.”

“The timeline could advance to a faster IR opening should the operator/prefecture partnership take the risk upon themselves to advance an IR opening earlier than 2026,” the brief stated. “If there is not a process in place by 2Q20, it is unlikely that a full integrated resort would be open in time to meet the desires of Osaka for the World Expo in 2025, or anyone else that will be investing billions of dollars into an integrated resort.”