The dream is getting bigger. On 17 January, after meeting with three members of the Osaka IR Promotion Bureau on a visit to the Osaka Prefectural Government Sakishima Building, IAG looks down on Yumeshima floating 24 floors below. It is now common knowledge that Yumeshima is the candidate site for an Osaka IR property.
Osaka Bay has three man-made islands including Maishima, Sakishima and Yumeshima. Yumeshima is actually quite unknown to the residents of Osaka city. It was also this reporter’s first time looking down on it.
“The IR location is planned for the back of that area just across the white bridge from Maishima,” one of the Osaka IR Promotion Bureau staff members explains. “The left side is where the World Expo will be and there is already a tunnel from Sakishima, where we are now, to Yumeshima.”
We look in the direction the staff member is pointing and can see where the underwater tunnel connects the two islands.
The World Expo will be held in 2025. A massive IR structure is supposed to be completed a year before the Expo. What will it look like? We get excited just imagining it.
There are so many issues that must be resolved when establishing an IR. Playing its part is the Seminar for the Prevention of Problem Gambling, which was held by the Osaka IR Promotion Bureau on the afternoon of 17 January in Nakanoshima, Osaka. The venue is near MGM Resorts Japan’s recently opened Osaka office.
This is the third time this type of seminar has been held. It consisted of two experts lecturing for two hours about gambling disorders and how they are treated. The estimated number of addictions are also the worst in the world – the conclusion being that going forward, Japan needs to continue activities to raise awareness and needs a reinforced support system.
This reporter feels like we’re ready for a solution, but it’s not something that can be solved overnight. We must tread carefully.
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