Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose said he intends to set up a casino in the Japanese capital’s popular waterfront district.
Brushing aside the country’s legal ban on casinos, the governor stated in a policy speech before the metropolitan assembly this week, “I expect the Diet to revise the law as soon as possible.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe supports casinos as an economic development tool, and advocates in the Diet say they expect to submit a bill by the fall with a view to securing legalization within two years.
Given Japan’s per capita wealth, sizable urban population and high propensity to gamble, the viability of casinos in the world’s third-largest economy has never been in doubt, and global names of the likes of Las Vegas Sands and Genting Group have stated their interest in investing. The country has long hosted thriving racing and lottery industries and a machine gaming sector centered on the pinball-like game pachinko that is estimated to generate some US$200 billion in revenue a year. Investment brokers CLSA Asia-Pacific estimate that a market consisting of one resort-scale casino in Tokyo and one in Osaka or another major city could be worth at least $10 billion a year, easily surpassing the $5.9 billion Singapore’s two resort casinos generated in 2012 and the $6.2 billion booked on the Las Vegas Strip.
Mr Inose said a Tokyo casino would serve as a draw for tourists and a suitable center for adult-style entertainment and social interaction, according to a Tuesday report in national daily The Asahi Shimbun.
“To boost the number of foreign visitors to Tokyo, I will consider preparing an integrated resort facility that combines restaurants, theaters and casinos,” he said.
Mr Inose’s pro-casino predecessor, Shintaro Ishihara, now a member of the Diet and a lightning rod for controversy for his nationalist views, also had suggested building casinos in Tokyo after he was first elected governor in 1999. Mr Ishihara had singled out the Odaiba district, one of the city’s major commercial, residential and leisure areas, as the most desirable location for gaming.
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