Japan’s Aichi Prefecture Mulls Integrated Casino-Resort

Japan’s Aichi Prefecture says it may resurrect its pre-COVID-19 plans to submit a bid to build an integrated casino-resort (IR).

So far, Osaka Prefecture is the only part of the country to have been granted an IR construction permit. The joint venture, involving MGM Resorts and the domestic construction giant Orix, gained central government approval in 2023. Builders started work on the MGM Osaka late last year. The firms plan to spend around $10 billion on the project.

Business leaders in the region say the IR will help turn Osaka into a major Asian tourism and entertainment hub when the facility opens in 2030.

However, the Osaka plan has stirred controversy among residents. And this has led many other prefectures to abandon their own plans or distance themselves from making bids ahead of the November 2027 deadline.

At a press conference on February 12, Aichi Prefecture Governor Hideaki Omura announced that he would “investigate the possibility” of submitting a bid before November 2027, the Japanese media outlet CBC News reported.

Aichi’s casino ambitions date back to 2017, when the city of Tokoname’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry first floated the plan to prefectural authorities.

The city is home to Chubu Centrair Airport, the busiest airport in central Japan. Tokoname suggested building the IR adjacent to the airport.

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At the end of the last decade, the prefecture commissioned a survey of the Chubu Centrair Airport area, but suspended it in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Aichi officials said the provisional plans include construction of a 100,000-square-meter hotel complex. They spoke about “organic” efforts to combine entertainment facilities with resources for “international conferences and exhibitions.”

Aichi Prefecture invited interested firms to make contact if they are interested in backing its IR bid.

Transport Hub

Aichi Prefecture is located in the center of Honshu, Japan’s main island. It functions as a major transport hub between the country’s two busiest cities, Tokyo and Osaka.

Its capital and largest city, Nagoya, has a population of around 2.3 million.

The central government has previously announced that it will green-light a maximum of three IRs, including Osaka.

Anti-gambling advocates have previously raised their objections to the plans, stating that an IR would drive up gambling addiction.

Earlier this month, several police officers in Aichi Prefecture admitted to gambling on games of mahjong while on duty.

One of the accused has tendered his resignation after making a full confession. Police have also taken action after several other officers admitted to betting on horse and boat racing events while on duty.

Disciplinary action was also taken against several of the officers’ supervisors.