Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN DEC 2020 80 Tomakomai City 苫小牧市 JAPAN A year has passed since Hokkaido pulled out of Japan’s IR race. On 29 November 2019, Hokkaido’s governor announced that the prefecture once thought to hold the most potential for a regional IR would no longer be pursuing a license. At the time, Governor Naomichi Suzuki claimed what while he, “wanted to pursue an IR bid,” after careful consideration he would, “shelve the idea of a regional IR certification application.” For all intents and purposes, Hokkaido is out of Japan’s IR race. The primary reason given for this withdrawal was that an environmental assessment study – deemed a requirement before launching any bid – would take two to three years. The candidate area was the Uenae district of Tomakomai city, located near Shinchitose Airport in Chitose city. A large 1,000 hectare plot of land was earmarked within which the project could be located, but Governor Suzuki determined, “There is a high possibility that the candidate location serves as a habitat for rare animals and with the limited time allotted it would be impossible to take the appropriate environmental considerations.” At the same time, the governor has recognized the estimates of an investment of between JPY280 billion and JPY380 billion (US$2.69 billion to US$3.65 billion) at the time of opening and overall annual sales of JPY160 billion (US$1.54 billion). With Hokkaido’s diminishing economy and depopulation among other concerns, the governor has also hinted at a possible future, stating, “IR is a project that will have a continuous contribution, having a great impact on our economy and society. We will continue to prepare ourselves so that we can take on such a challenge when the time is right.”