An Osaka residents’ groups has announced plans to start collecting signatures with a view to calling for a referendum on the city and prefecture’s planned IR development.
According to the Nikkei, the group will collect signatures for a two-month period from 25 March to 25 May, aiming to provide citizens the opportunity to express their views on both the pros and cons of developing an IR.
The group has stated that it wants to collect around 200,000 signatures – more than the 150,000 needed to request a referendum. Once the signatures are collected, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Hirofumi Yoshimura, will be asked to enact the ordinance and will then consult the Osaka Prefectural Assembly with the draft.
However, the Nikkei report says it is almost certain the draft ordinance will be rejected by the Assembly. A similar request was recently vetoed in Wakayama.
The actions of the residents’ group comes just a week after Osaka city revealed it was setting aside JPY 5.85 billion (US$51 million) of its budget for the next 12 months for infrastructure costs related to Yumeshima Island, the planned location of its IR.
Osaka wants to begin development by 2023 with a view to opening by 2029. A consortium of around 20 companies – headed by US casino giant MGM Resorts and local firm Orix Corp – has been named as Osaka’s preferred IR partner.
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