Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN MAY 2019 70 “With other candidate sites, operators need to start developing infrastructure or have to fill the land or start from scratch, but in Wakayama, it’s immediately ready for development.” 「他の候補地はまだこれからインフラを整えなければいけない、埋め立てしな ければいけないとなっているけど、和歌山県はもうすでにできあがっています」 JAPAN B efore he was elected Wakayama Prefecture’s governor in 2006, Yoshinobu Nisaka served nearly 30 years in Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and its predecessors. After a professional lifetime spent in the economic development sector, it’s no surprise that Nisaka is a leading advocate of integrated resorts, among the best growth opportunities to emerge in Japan since economic stagnation began in the early 1990s. It’s also no surprise that Nisaka, born in Wakayama City in 1950, wants to bring an IR to his hometown, which, like other so-called regional areas in Japan, has experienced long term migration of business and residents, especially young people, to big cities. For Wakayama, that means Osaka, Japan’s third largest city, just over an hour away, heart of the Kansai region with a population of more than 22 million. Nisaka also served three years as Japan’s ambassador to Brunei, but his stint as a diplomat doesn’t prevent him from speaking his mind. In 2017, he made news by declaring to Inside Asian Gaming that Wakamaya casinos should be open to foreigners only, a belief he no longer holds. Governor Nisaka, who won his fourth term in November, pulled no punches in this latest interview via a translator with IAG Editor at Large Muhammad Cohen. Muhammad Cohen: What makes Wakayama the right choice for a regional IR? Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka: I t’s not my just opinion: several international IR operators have made four strong points. First, Wakayama is very close to Kansai International Airport, one of the largest airports in Japan. Second, Wakayama is part of the Kansai region, home to Kyoto, Kobe and Osaka. After Greater Tokyo, Kansai is the second largest population center of Japan. Third, the candidate site to host an IR is Wakayama Marina City. The IR site is already developed and the infrastructure is built. It’s an artificial island created about