Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JUL 2020 74 T okyo is attracting attention. At the time of writing, the most populous urban conglomeration in the world with 38 million people was preparing for the Tokyo gubernatorial election on 5 July. Why all the attention? For the global gaming industry, the billion- dollar question remains whether or not Tokyo will throw its hat in the ring to develop an IR. The candidates for Tokyo governor offered a range of views and pledges on that IR bid. Historically, Tokyo has always been up in the air regarding a possible bid, swaying with whoever the governor happens to be at the time, but now that governor Yuriko Koike has been elected to serve another term, what does this mean for Japan’s burgeoning casino industry? TOKYO’S IR HISTORY Tokyo’s relationship with casinos has a long history and there is no doubt the sprawling metropolis has been toying with the idea longer than any other city in Japan. Let’s go back about 20 years, to April 1999, when Shintaro Ishihara was running for governor. Ishihara pledged to make a Tokyo casino a reality, and he was elected on that mandate among others. He held the post of Governor of Tokyo for 12 years and six months until 2011. Ishihara’s stance was, “Building a casino in the coastal Daiba area of Minato ward would create 10,000 jobs.” He stated (inaccurately), “Tokyo is the only major city in the world with a population of over a million without a casino,” and that, “Structural reform will help us establish a more transient workforce.” His Odaiba Casino Concept attracted plenty of interest but, as it constituted a form of large-scale public gambling, casino development required national legislation and Governor Ishihara switched his stance to bringing that legislation to the national government. In 2003, he announced that the Odaiba Casino Concept would be abandoned. Things went quiet for the next nine years until 2012, when Ishihara’s time in office ended and Naoki Inose took over. In June 2013, Governor Inose Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has refused to clarify her IR stance. 東京知事小池百合子氏はIRのスタンスを明らかにしない JAPAN