Tokyo doesn't need casinos - governor

The former governor of Tokyo - Shintaro Ishihara, who once promoted the idea of casino legalization in Japan, no longer believes that the capital of Japan needs to open such establishments.

As part of the press conference held on Tuesday, December 18, Ishihara said: “It’s OK, if they build casino resorts outside Tokyo.”

In addition, he suggested that Japanese casinos are most suitable for the less developed regions of the country. In his opinion, this will become a tool for restoring their economic viability. Ishihara recalled that the Native Americans used just such a development strategy in the United States and achieved the desired results. He mentioned the city of Atami, Shizuoka, as the place in which, in his opinion, casino resorts will be most beneficial for the country.

In July of this year, the current governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, referred to Ishihara’s interest in the resort’s casino project as the reason why the capital should explore the possibility of applying for IR. But it seems that the creator of the concept is no longer an active supporter of this idea.