Yokohama’s casino hopes take a huge hit
Yokohama’s bid for one of Japan’s three new integrated resort licences could be in jeopardy after the election of a hardline anti-casino candidate Takeharu Yamanaka as the prefecture’s mayor.
Asia Gaming Brief reports that Yamanaka was backed by Japan’s opposition parties and campaigned on a pledge to repeal the city’s plans to host an integrated resort.
He was backed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan as well as the Japanese Commnist Party and the Social Democratic Party.
According to projections, Yamanaka was heading for victory and had cleared the 25 per cent threshold of the number of ballots needed to avoid a second round.
“Yokohama integrated resort is as good as dead at least for the next seven years,” said David Cheng, a gaming and hospitality expert with experience in Japan.
The mayoral term is for four years and there won’t be any further talk of integrated resorts during this time.
Even if there is a further political shift in the next four years, Yokohama will likely have to wait until the second round of integrated resort licence bids before it can represent its candidacy, he explained.
Vocal opposition to casinos in Yokohama
Melco Resorts and Entertainment and Genting Singapore were the two remaining candidates in the running for a licence in the city.
Up until fairly recently, polling had shown Suga-backed Hachiro Okonogi as a clear leader in the race.
Okonogi has been vocal about his opposition to an integrated resort in Yokohama, but not against casinos in general, given his affiliation with the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party.
Yamanaka has prevailed over a field of eight candidates, including incumbent Fumiko Hayashi, who was running for a fourth term.
Anti-IR sentiment in the city has been strong and this has coupled with frustration at the government’s handling of COVID to topple both the sitting mayor and the Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate.
One of Yokohama’s leading business figure, Yukio Fujiki, chairman of the Yokohama Harbour Resort Association and known as the “Don of Yokohama” for his influence, said he would commit suicide on the opening day were a casino to be constructed.
The potential loss of Yokohama as a casino destination will curtail the expectations of the potential for Japan’s integrated resort market, which has already been dealt as a series of major blows.
The withdrawal of some of the biggest global names, such as Las Vegas Sands, had meant that many cities vying for a licence found themselves with few potential partners.
This now leaves just Osaka, Wakayama and Nagasaki as host cities.
Osaka has chosen a consortium between MGM Resorts and Orix Corp, Wakayama has named Clairvest as its partner, while Nagasaki has chosen Casinos Austria.
Cheng said it is possible the government could just move ahead with the three remaining cities, although it may also be an opportunity to formally delay the process and allow other participants, such as Hokkaido or Tokyo to come in.
However, on a macro level the loss of Yokohama to the opposition may have far-reaching repercussions and has significantly weakened the position of Prime Minister Suga.
“The emphatic results and the wide margin with which Yamanaka has won is a rebuke for Prime Minister Suga.
“Not just for the integrated resort, but for how he has handled the COVID criss in Japan,” Cheng said.
“It bodes really ominously for the Prime Minister as he will have his own party leadership election next month and his competitors were just waiting for the results of the mayoral election. He is seen as significantly weakened and will face many challenges for the leadership.”
Cheng also points out that the LDP itself has been weakened, losing control of the three biggest metropolitan centres in the country.
