Mayor told Osaka to submit information on IR land issue

The mayor of Osaka Prefecture, Japan, told the media on the 24th that he had asked local authorities to submit documents explaining when and how to resolve the proposal to attract casinos and integrated resorts (IRs).

Mayor Ichiro Matsui's comments suggested that the request for such a document was related to an evaluation by national authorities on Osaka's IR district development plan, a blueprint for casino resorts. The plan was submitted to the central government on April 26.

A government-organized panel of experts has completed an investigation into the Osaka plan, based on the mayor's remarks and what was separately disclosed by the Japan Tourism Organization, according to data collected by GGRAsia's Japan correspondent. Nagasaki has separately bid for the right to host the casino resort.

In March, the Osaka City Council approved the metropolitan city's submission of its IR plan to the government. However, five people described as former members of the Osaka City Council were found to argue that it was illegal to set aside 79 billion yen (about $563 million at the current exchange rate) in soil remediation measures for a planned construction site for IR on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay.

The lobbyists also inquired about the use of 70 million yen in public funds for environmental evaluation related to the site.

In mid-July, there were reports that a lawyer was planning a lawsuit after hearing that some anti-casino citizens in Osaka had refused to investigate land lease contracts for the Osaka casino scheme.

MGM Resorts International, Osaka's private sector partner who proposed the 1.8 trillion-yen resort, had suggested that Japanese authorities might make a decision on Osaka's slope by this fall. But last month, an Osaka lawmaker questioned the feasibility of the schedule.

At the end of July, the current council rejected attempts by anti-casino lobbyists to hold a referendum on IR policy.

BY: 카지노사이트