The President of the Yokohama Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Takashi Ueno, has expressed his support for the city’s impending IR bid, stating, “We are very pleased about this news and we will be evaluating it.”
His comment follows revelations this week that Yokohama mayor Fumiko Hayashi will imminently announce an IR bid.
The Chamber of Commerce had formally expressed its willingness to work toward an IR bid for Yokohama in the past and has also announced that its policy is to launch a promotion council in September. In July, it submitted a request to Mayor Hayashi that she exercise “urgent political judgment.”
In response to naysayers, the Chamber of Commerce has vehemently denied that an IR is defined as a casino or that casinos are defined as problem gaming. Vice President Morihiko Kawamoto has said, “It is necessary to know more about casinos in the context of an IR.”
On the other hand, Yokohama Port Association, a new organization created by Yokohama businesses around the ptoposed Yamashita Wharf location, have expressed their opposition, so it seems that the road ahead will not be a smooth one.