Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAY 2020年5月 亞博匯 50 JAPAN During the 1980s, city-building based on a Technoport Osaka plan was in progress. In the 1990s and the noughties the city was working to be a candidate to host the Olympics, but it was not to be. Ed: Technoport Osaka Project was announced in 1983 as a business to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Osaka’s government. The concept was to aim for a new central city that would function as an international trade center amidst the accelerating globalization and information-intensive society. TY: That’s quite a somber history. NS: Yes. Yumeshima has continuously been deprived of follow-through on plans that would allow it to reach its potential. But now it is the host site for the Osaka- Kansai Japan Expo 2025, and 70 hectares have been arranged on the adjacent land for an IR. It’s not just the government, the residents also want Yumeshima to be put to good use, so there is special meaning to any business that will be conducted there. “Yume” of course means “dream” in Japanese and “shima” means “island.” Just as the name suggests, this island holds the hopes and dreams of many. 　The island already has a container port and it serves as important logistics support for the Kansai area. Furthermore, Osaka city and prefecture have started considerations for a supercity concept, which is meant to include Yumeshima as part of its plans. Besides serving as a global tourism hub, the development of Yumeshima will help set an Osaka IR apart from other similar facilities that exist throughout the world. TY: What can we expect from an Osaka IR? NS: I believe that whether or not anOsaka IRwill succeed depends on how many people’s faces it brings smiles to after opening. In my activities so far, I’ve learned that the local people are wanting an opportunity to interact with the operators. They are very positive about supporting their communities and positive about accepting things that help to build up those communities and give back to the regions. They don’t want the World Expo or an IR just because of the economic benefits. What they want is a partner that will work together with the people to build up the region. There is still time before an Osaka IR will come to be. IR operators are spending most of their efforts on providing opportunities for the local people to gain a better understanding about the casino industry, which has never existed in Japan. I believe it is mutual communication that will lead to a deeper understanding of and by the local residents. 劃，但最終沒成功。這裡也曾是1970年代世博會的候選地點之一， 但最終世博會選擇了吹田市。 到了1980年代，以大阪科技港計劃為基礎的城市建設取得成 就。及至1990年代和本世紀初，這座城市曾爭取申辦奧運會，但最 終也未能如願。 編者注： 大阪科技港項目於1983年宣布，目的是紀念大阪建市100 週年。 該概念旨在建立一個新的中心城市，在加速的全球化進程 和信息密集型社會中成為國際貿易中心。 TY：真是一段慘淡的歷史。 NS： 是的。夢洲一直未能獲得能夠實現其潛力的後續計劃。但是 現在，它將是2025年大阪關西世博會的舉辦地，同時亦有70公頃 的土地預留給未來的IR。不僅僅是政府，居民也希望能夠善用夢 洲，所以對那裡開展任何業務都具有特殊的意義。「Yume」在日語 中意為夢，「shima」則是島嶼的意思。顧名思義，這座島嶼承載了 許多人的希望和夢想。 這個島上已經有一個集裝箱港口，它是關西地區的重要後勤 支持。此外，大阪市和大阪府已經開始考慮超級城市的概念，夢洲 也是這個計劃的一部分。除了想成為全球旅遊樞紐之外，夢洲的 發展還將使大阪IR從全球的綜合度假村中脫穎而出。 TY: 我們應對大阪IR有何期待？ NS: 我相信大阪的IR成功與否將取決於其開業後能令多少人受