JAPAN

Japan prefectures to getdown to business in 2020

Japan’s local prefectures are expected to step up activity next year in finally nailing down whether or not they will make a bid for an integrated resort license, with some potentially having already chosen their partner by year-end.

Spectrum Gaming Group forecasts 2020 will be the “Year of the Prefecture,” with officials expected to form advisory councils and working groups to help them with their decision.

Meanwhile, the national government will name the members of the Casino Management Board (official English name pending) and the regulatory agency will become operative by issuing a series of regulatory guidelines as the march towards opening Japan’s first IR gathers speed.

At the current juncture, a total of fourteen Japanese local governments appear to be in the first round of the Japan IR race, competing for just three licenses.

Those that have definitely declared their intentions are Yokohama, Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki. A further six have admitted that they are considering the possibility of a bid: Tokyo, Hokkaido, Chiba, Kawasaki, Nagoya, and Hamamatsu.

Four other local governments that did not admit to the media surveys that they are considering a bid are known to be doing so are Aichi, Miyagi, Mie, and Kitakyushu.

Some prefectures are already well advanced, having launched Request for Concept (RFC) procedures and identified potential locations.

Osaka, under its new Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, was quick off the mark, launching its process in April for an IR on a 49-hectare site on Yumeshima island. Operators were instructed to provide their basic concepts for the IR core facilities, non-core facilities, disaster management, gambling addiction countermeasures, public security policies, and much more.

The selected operator will be expected to bear an expense of 20.2 billion yen ($182 million) as its part in subsidizing the extension of the Osaka Metro Chuo Line to Yumeshima.

Nagasaki Prefecture began an RFC process in October. The schedule is a tight one, with the whole process to be concluded by February.

“Through this RFC process, a better understanding from an early stage of IR development and related needs / issues for this project will be promoted through the deepening of mutual understanding among local officials, including the prefecture, the city, and private businesses,” the local government said. “The purpose of this project is to facilitate the implementation of the project, accelerate the various preparations and examinations related to this project, and to promptly implement the RFP after the establishment of the basic policy of the country.”

A wide range of IR operators and investment groups have expressed interest in making bids for the 31-hectare candidate site at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo.

Wakayama hasn’t launched an official RFC, but on the final day of its regular session, the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly declared its support for Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka’s initiative to seek an IR license for the Marina City location.

“We will proactively promote IR activities leading to a bid, including the fostering of opportunities to reach local consensus,” the resolution stated.

With Yokohama’s entry into the IR race signaling the possibility that only one smaller, regional location may receive an IR license, Wakayama has been endeavoring to present itself as an option that is virtually shovel-ready and with few local political complications.

In Hokkaido, political and business groups have been stepping up their lobbying efforts to convince the still undecided Governor Naomichi Suzuki to move forward with the IR process.

Four leading business groups—the Hokkaido Economic Federation, the Hokkaido Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Hokkaido Association of Corporate Executives, and the Hokkaido Tourism Organization—indicated that they will issue a “joint emergency declaration” calling for an IR bid. Governor Suzuki has already responded that he will use this joint declaration as a “reference” as he makes his final decision.

Pro-IR activity remains brisk in Hokkaido’s candidate city Tomakomai. Sixteen members of the Tomakomai City Council, representing a majority of the chamber, issued a formal request to Mayor Hirofumi Iwakura seeking an IR development in the city. The pro-IR mayor was pleased to receive such a request as he himself has long been working in this direction.

Additionally, Mori Trust, the major Tokyo-based real estate firm, announced that it was prepared to make a 250 billion yen ($2.3 billion) investment to create a large-scale resort in Tomakomai, including a five hundred room hotel and about one thousand villas.

This resort is planned for a location very near the candidate IR site in Uenae, and it appears to be an effort to create a facility that would have synergies with an IR development.

Wynn abandons Osaka for Kanto bid

Wynn Resorts has also withdrawn from the IR race in Osaka and will focus its efforts on gaining a license in the Kanto region.

“Wynn Resorts is grateful for the many months of positive dialogue we have enjoyed with the city of Osaka and its citizens, and we appreciate the gracious hospitality we have received from them.

Although we have decided not to pursue an Integrated City Resort in Osaka at this time, we wish the city the very best and look forward to following its continued success. Wynn Resorts is currently focused on the Kanto area,” the company said.

The entry of Yokohama into the race prompted Las Vegas Sands and Melco Resorts & Entertainment to withdraw from the Osaka site, which had previously been seen as the major prize for IR operators.

Rush Street unveils Japan architectural team

Rush Street Japan has unveiled its architectural team, which it hopes will one day soon be designing and building an IR in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.

Rush Street’s new partners are the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and landscape architecture and design company Takano Landscape Planning (TLP).

Neil Bluhm, cofounder and chairman of Rush Street, commented, “We’re extremely pleased to welcome SOM and TLP to the team.

Their combination of creativity and regional insight, along with our global expertise in real estate development, enhances the solid foundation we’ve already built here in Japan.”