Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki - contenders for the construction of IR

Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki - three locations, whose governments openly spoke in favor of building integrated resorts on their territories.

From November to December, the Kyodo News agency contacted all 47 prefectures of Japan and 20 major cities that have the right to apply for integrated resort. Among them, only the city of Osaka, as well as the prefectures of Wakayama and Nagasaki, have expressed interest in hosting a casino resort.

According to representatives of the news agency, most regional centers report that a final decision on this issue has not yet been made. They also share concerns about public discontent with the construction of integrated resorts.

The law of Japan on the implementation of integrated resorts requires that local authorities who wish to act as a host, make a formal decision on this matter.

As part of the process of legalizing the Japanese gambling business, the local authorities must firstly select business partners. A plan for the development of integrated resorts, developed jointly by local governments and their business partners, should be submitted to the national government of Japan for consideration. On the first wave of market legalization, only three licenses will be available.

Nagoya, a city in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, is considering building a casino resort on its territory and is looking for the best location.

In addition, Tokyo, Hokkaido, Ibaraki Prefecture, Chiba and Yokohama are occupied with studying the possibility of building an integrated resort.

Earlier, Hokkaido Prefecture announced that it could accept a casino resort in Tomakomai, but an official statement has not yet been made.

Osaka announced that this spring it will begin searching for a partner for the construction and management of an integrated resort.