{"id":18378,"date":"2026-08-31T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=asia&#038;p=18378"},"modified":"2026-08-31T06:53:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:53:50","slug":"wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table","status":"publish","type":"asia","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Wakayama revives Japan\u2019s IR casino race as Sasebo returns to the table"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Wakayama put an integrated resort casino back at the center of its tourism strategy on August 28, 2026<\/strong>, after Governor <strong>Izumi Miyazaki<\/strong> confirmed that the prefecture is prepared to cooperate if the new owner of <strong>Wakayama Marina City<\/strong> moves forward with a private-sector bid in Japan\u2019s second national IR round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/hokkaido-accelerates-casino-push-as-15-companies-enter-the-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hokkaido accelerates casino push as 15 companies enter the race<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/mve-ads\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16352\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE-300x250.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shift follows the <strong>August 21<\/strong> acquisition of <strong>100% of Wakayama Marina City Co., Ltd.<\/strong> by <strong>fav hospitality group<\/strong>, a subsidiary of <strong>Kasumigaseki Capital Co., Ltd.<\/strong>, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market and led by <strong>Koshiro Komoto, Representative Director, President and CEO<\/strong>. The purchase price was not disclosed. Marina City already includes the <strong>Wakayama Marina City Hotel, Kuroshio Market, Kishu Kuroshio Onsen, a yacht club and Porto Europa<\/strong>, all located on an artificial island in Wakayama Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"735\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18380\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table2.png 735w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table2-300x176.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Koshiro Komoto<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wakayama previously tried to join Japan\u2019s first wave of casino development. In 2021, it selected the consortium led by <strong>Clairvest Neem Ventures<\/strong> for an IR worth approximately <strong>JPY470 billion<\/strong>, backed by around <strong>JPY145 billion in equity<\/strong> and <strong>JPY325 billion in debt<\/strong>. <strong>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> was included as the casino operator. The project projected <strong>JPY710 billion in economic impact during construction<\/strong>, around <strong>JPY310 billion annually once operational<\/strong>, and up to <strong>14,000 jobs<\/strong>, but the Prefectural Assembly rejected it on <strong>April 20, 2022 by a 22-18 vote<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18381\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table3.png 723w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/wakayama-revives-japans-ir-casino-race-as-sasebo-returns-to-the-table3-300x183.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <em>Ken Hirata<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interest is not limited to Wakayama. In <strong>Sasebo, Nagasaki<\/strong>, the <strong>Sasebo Chamber of Commerce and Industry<\/strong>, chaired by <strong>Takuya Kaneko<\/strong>, called on <strong>August 25, 2026<\/strong> for a renewed bid centered on <strong>Huis Ten Bosch<\/strong>. Any new proposal would require support from Mayor <strong>Daisuke Miyajima<\/strong>, Nagasaki Governor <strong>Ken Hirata<\/strong>, and the theme park\u2019s owner, Asian investment group <strong>PAG<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9622\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nagasaki previously submitted a plan in April 2022 with <strong>Casinos Austria International Japan<\/strong>, valued at roughly <strong>JPY438.3 billion<\/strong>, but the central government rejected it on <strong>December 27, 2023<\/strong> over concerns about financing and overall viability. Japan\u2019s next IR application window will run from <strong>May 6 to November 5, 2027<\/strong> under the <strong>Act on Development of Specified Integrated Resort Districts of 2018<\/strong>. With Osaka already approved, Japan can still award up to <strong>two additional IRs<\/strong>, reopening a major pipeline for investment, tourism, MICE and employment around large-scale casino resorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wakayama put an integrated resort casino back at the center of its tourism strategy on August 28, 2026, after Governor Izumi Miyazaki confirmed that the prefecture is prepared to cooperate if the new owner of Wakayama Marina City moves forward with a private-sector bid in Japan\u2019s second national IR round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18379,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2323,57,15,4960,2316,105,2450],"class_list":["post-18378","asia","type-asia","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sin-categoria","tag-asia","tag-casinos","tag-gambling","tag-ir","tag-japan","tag-sports-betting","tag-tourism","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - 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