Yokohama may change location for potential IR
As Yokohama seeks to get an IR once the industry gets legalised, the city continues to assess where to locate it.
Japan.- The casino industry will soon arrive in Japan and several cities are pushing to get an integrated resort (IR) in their area. Yokohama is one of them but, according to a local politician, it may change the specific location in which it plans to build it.
The head of the nine-member Japan Communist Party caucus within the Yokohama City Council, Yumiko Araki, said that she believes Mayor Fumiko Hayashi may switch the intended location from Yamashita Pier to Minato Mirai. In an interview with AGBrief, Araki stated: “The situation for building a casino at Yamashita Pier has become increasingly difficult, but there is also Minato Mirai, which has a convention hall that could become part of the development that is required by the regulations.”
The politician’s suspicions are also fueled by Keikyu Corporation’s decision to move its headquarters from Tokio to Minato Mirai in the autumn of 2019. In addition, it is no secret that the company is very keen to build an IR, and everything suggests it may choose the district to do so.
The IR Implementation Bill is being discussed by Japanese lawmakers but the current Diet session ends on June 20th and time seems to be running out. However, the government may decide to extend the current session to late June or July in order to have time to pass the casino bill.
