Osaka criticises Japanese IR policy delay
After the government announced the Japanese IR policy delay, Osaka political leaders heavily criticised them.
Japan.- The casino industry will land in Japan in the next few years but there are still several details to define. Osaka expects to score a licence and launch by 2025, which is why they slammed the government over delays.
The central government announced it would delay the regulations for the IR bidding process and irritated Osaka’s political leaders.
“The IR Implementation Act has already been passed, so what is the point of this delay?” Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui questioned. “If the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japan Communist Party want to campaign against it, then the answer is to meet them with bold public arguments. IRs are needed for Japan’s tourism policy and so should be realized at an early juncture.”
“If the national government does not set the basic policy, we cannot complete our own selection policy,” Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura added. “Since Osaka is making its own preparations, we request the government not to delay. Osaka’s schedule has not changed. We still want the IR to open before the 2025 World Expo.”
The delay
The government announced plans to postpone Japanese IR regulations until the election in summer for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, or later.
According to a senior government official quoted by Jiji Press, they will show the basic policy “next year.”
The authorities planned to introduce the Japanese IR policy this summer but decided to postpone them. The campaign and the elections are the main reasons and will have the industry waiting a few more months.
