Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has instructed her tourism minister to promote integrated resorts as part of a larger economic growth strategy.
Sanae Takaichi, newly elected prime minister of Japan, recently ordered Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko to resume the push for integrated resorts (IRs) in the country.
Takaichi is a devotee of late prime minister Shinzo Abe, who advanced IRs to grow tourism and foreign investment. She reportedly gave Kaneko the all-clear to “promote … IRs and realise attractive stay-type tourism” in Japan.
According to the Japan Times, Takaichi also used an expression associated with her mentor, Abe, vowing to restore Japan “to its rightful place at the heart of the world”.
How IR development phase began, then stalled
With the 2018 passage of IR enabling legislation, the National Diet launched a plan to develop three IRs around the country, which set off a gold rush. Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and other global operators prepared to place licence bids.
But the global pandemic brought momentum to a crawl, and most major operators withdrew. In 2023, lawmakers approved just one IR bid, from MGM Resorts International and Orix Corporation. In April, they broke ground on MGM Osaka, an $8.9 billion development on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay. The IR is on track to open in 2030. Once established, MGM estimates it will draw some 20 million visitors per year.
To fully exploit the opportunity, Osaka is redeveloping the former World Expo site, adding commercial and leisure attractions around the IR.
Second round of Japan IR applications in the works
In her first policy speech on Friday, Takaichi promised to create a “create a strong and prosperous Japanese archipelago”. She proposed the appointment of a “growth strategy council” to further economic development.
Meanwhile, the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission is expected to launch a second round of IR licence bidding in 2026.
In May, the Hokkaido Shimbun reported that “several prefectures, including Hokkaido … are ‘interested’”. In the past, Hard Rock International expressed interest in Hokkaido, the second-largest island in Japan.
AloJapan.com