Hokkaido governor nears decision on IR bid

Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki is nearing his decision on whether or not to pursue an IR bid at Tomakomai city, but even conservative political forces are having difficulty uniting behind a pro-IR policy.

On the one hand, Governor Suzuki met on Monday with representatives of eight business organizations that are lobbying him to embrace an IR bid as soon as possible.

On the other hand, the governor will have serious and legitimate concerns about the position of the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly.

Even the Liberal Democratic Party caucus itself was unable to come to a unified stance after a meeting in Monday.

In the assembly as a whole, a new Hokkaido Shinbun poll found that among its 100 assemblymen in the chamber, 45 say that they oppose an IR bid, 26 say they support a bid, and 29 either refuse to answer or say they are undecided.

Governor Suzuki indicated at the beginning of October that he would make his own decision before the year has ended.

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