Yokohama City votes against casinos

Yokohama City was one of the potential Japanese cities to host the first integrated resorts.

Japan.- The second largest Japanese city by population – Yokohama City (only surpassed by Tokyo) – may not be interested in allowing the casino market development in the region. According to the local press, the city’s authorities launched a popular poll to see if residents agreed with the casino legislation leading to negative results.

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications revealed that a survey conducted by the city’s government between May 14 and June 22 this year showed negative results as to developing casino industry in the city. “The specific nature of citizen concern was not outlined in reports about the survey findings,” reported the press.

Yokohama is one of the top candidates in Japan to host an integrated resort (IR) but Mayor Fumiko Hayashi remains neutral on the matter. The city’s main official reaffirmed her “blank slate” position on the matter and said no decision about pursuing a bid has been made so far, even as there’s an ongoing request for information (RFI) process around it.

Even as Mayor Hayashi has claimed to be neutral, it is expected that she will retake her advocacy for IRs, a stance she had kept until the reelection process approached in early 2017. Alongside the Osaka, Nagasaki and Hokkaido areas, Yokohama is among the main candidates to host a casino in the near future, but it’s the only one to have begun an RFI process in the country.