Osaka’s integrated resort (IR) timeline received a political tailwind after Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama both won snap local polls with larger vote totals than in 2023, reinforcing the local bloc that backs Japan’s first casino resort. Yoshimura secured just over 3.02 million votes (vs. just under 2.44 million in April 2023), while Yokoyama received 830,257 votes (vs. 655,802).
For operators and investors, the relevance is execution risk: a stronger mandate can reduce near-term policy uncertainty around the IR, even as Osaka’s leadership pursues the separate “Osaka metropolis plan,” which would still require a local referendum and has previously been rejected twice.
At the same time, newly surfaced architectural details underscore the project’s commercial ambition. The JPY 1.51 trillion MGM Osaka development is described as having a 23,293-square-metre casino with about 470 tables and 6,400 slot machines, anchored by a 126-metre, 27-storey main tower housing two hotels (1,840 rooms) plus the casino and a theatre. A second hotel building would add 660 rooms, while the MICE complex is outlined with a 16.7-hectare footprint and two exhibition halls.
The current target is late 2030, and the project is being advanced by a consortium led by MGM Resorts International and Orix.
Bottom line for the market: Osaka’s election result improves political visibility, but the value case still hinges on delivery discipline—capex control, construction sequencing, and the ability of the non-gaming (MICE/hospitality) mix to smooth cash flows through cycles.
