The third assembly of the Yokohama City Council was held on Tuesday, where council members of the opposition party took turns offering their criticism of Fumiko Hayashi’s decision to pursue an IR bid.
While the council members of the ruling class praised the bid concept, there were also demands to provide thorough explanations to the citizens. The Nikkei reported that over 100 audience seats were filled by citizens with high interests in an IR.
The city also submitted a proposal for an additional JPY260 million in supplementary budget related to an IR, dated the day of the meeting. Of the eight council members who questioned Mayor Hayashi, six of those did so from the standpoint of opposing a Yokohama IR.
Council member Kotaro Fujisaki, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party’s Citizen’s Forum, said, “The total number of votes cast in the mayoral election in 2017 was 1.14 million, but not a single person voted for a candidate who expressed support for an IR bid. Approximately 530,000 votes were cast to candidates who were clearly anti-casinos.”
He went further to say, “It’s not too late to ask the opinions and support of the citizens regarding an IR and review the city’s policy regarding bidding.”
In response to this, Mayor Hayashi explained, “There are no regulations in the IR Development Act requiring consent of the prefecture, holding of a public hearing or resolution by the council.”
She indicated that there were initiatives planned to hold briefings for citizens in all 18 wards, but denied a referendum.
Tamio Kawagi of the Communist Party claimed, “Even if problem gambling countermeasures are put in place, and even if fiscal resources are provided, it is a mistake for the administration to go ahead with something unethical.”
The non-transparency of the basis for calculating the economic effects of an IR bid and the fact that the negative impact on the regional economy have not been considered were also claimed.
Masaru Kurokawa, a member of the non-partisan committee under the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party), praised the mayor’s decision, adding that, “Three stages of briefings are necessary to gain understanding, acceptance and agreement [of the citizens, regarding IR].”
Yasuhiro Mochizuki of Komeito (Clean Government Party) stated, “Creating an IR in Yokohama is not plausible without resolving all the issues and proceeding cautiously.
“An IR is a huge project that no one [in Japan] has ever attempted before. It is essential that the council act with even more responsibility than it ever has before.”
