Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on December 27 2023 that it decided not to accept an IR (Integrated Resort) plan applied by Nagasaki Prefecture and KYUSHU Resorts Japan, based on an advice from an external review committee.
An external review committee pointed out two reasons for the decision: not sufficient foundation for the certainty of fund rising, and not sufficient foundations for sustainable business operation by using profit from the casino business and appropriate implementation regarding the elimination of harmful effects of casino.
In addition, the committee said that investor members had changed since the application was submitted, and the investment ratio by IR business operators was extremely small.
Nagasaki Prefecture designated a neighbor area to a theme-park Huis Ten Bosch as an IR area, expecting to open it around autumn in 2027.
Kengo Oishi, Nagasaki Governor, stated that the decision is ‘extremely regrettable,’ requesting convincing explanation to the government.
The IR plan of Osaka Prefecture is only approved so far, and the government plans to approve three IR plans for the time being.
