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Shintaro Ishihara: No need for casino in Tokyo


Former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, the man who launched the casino legalization movement in Japan almost twenty years ago with his Tokyo waterfront casino concept, no longer believes that Japan’s capital city needs such a development.

Asked about the matter by Asia Gaming Brief at a press conference on Tuesday, Ishihara stated, “It’s fine if they build them outside of Tokyo.”

He went on to suggest that Japanese casinos would most appropriate for impoverished regional areas of the country as a measure to restore economic vitality. He noted that Native Americans had used such a development strategy in United States to good effect. He also cited Atami city, Shizuoka, as a location that he’d now like to see open a casino resort.

In July, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike cited Ishihara’s past advocacy as a reason why the capital city should examine the possibility of an IR bid, but it seems that the originator of the concept is no longer a keen advocate.

Asia Gaming Brief is a news and intelligence service providing up to date market information for worldwide executives on relevant gaming issues in Asia.

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