Japan’s casino legislation may be teetering on another delay but that hasn’t stopped a new region from throwing its name into the hat of interested areas that want to develop a casino.
Business and political leaders from Miyagi angle to get a piece of Japan’s casino market as a way to speed up recovery to a region that was swallowed up by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Two-thirds of the 59 assemblymen in Miyagi support a plan to develop a casino in the area even though details of their efforts haven’t been made public. Those supporting the casino plan expect strong opposition from residents who fear that a casino would only set back what little economic progress they’ve made in the past three years. Making things more complicated, Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai’s admitted that he isn’t in favor of a casino bid in his jurisdiction.
Supporters of the plan remain committed to see it through, arguing that the ravaged region needs as much economic stimulant as it can get in a short period of time. “With a casino, we can increase the number of people coming and going,” assemblyman Takayoshi Konno told the Japan Times. “There is so much we must do for reconstruction and we’ll need more fiscal spending. We need to do all we can to secure revenue in different ways.”
Miyagi has a population of 2.3 million but the region was leveled after a devastating earthquake and tsunami left the area in shambles. Three years later, reconstruction work has begun on some areas of the city but nobody’s going to confuse this area as in the middle of a full-scale recovery. More investments and job opportunities are sorely needed, two things that a full-scale resort and casino development can provide.
The location of the proposed resort is far from being finalized but a location near the Sendai Airport has been thrown around as a possible venue. Sendai is famous for its ski and hot spring resorts and adding a full-sized integrated resort and casino would add to the area’s appeal as an outstanding tourist hub.
