Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2021年1月 亞博匯 35 封面故事 been long known. Experts cite issues with the location being so far from the nearest major airport at Fukuoka – 100 minutes away by car. A high-speed ferry has been proposed, but even this would be well over an hour’s journey from Fukuoka airport. Nagasaki is touting itself as the “Kyushu candidate,” as it has the support of the Kyushu Governors Association. The association brings together the seven prefectures of Kyushu island as well as Yamaguchi prefecture (directly opposite Kyushu at the western end of Honshu island) and Okinawa prefecture (far to the south midway between Kyushu and Taiwan). Yokohama has the advantage of being located in the greater Tokyo metropolis, the population of which is 38 million, making it the world’s most populated metro area. On a good day the train ride from Yokohama to the heart of Tokyo can be as little as 20 minutes. But 74-year-old power-mayor Fumiko Hayashi has an uphill battle, with a dearth of public support and 200,000 resident signatures supporting a referendum on the IR issue – widely viewed as a signal of negative public sentiment. She also has a mayoral election to survive in the second half of 2021, and operators are concerned about the possibility of an election loss leading to Yokohama dropping its IR bid. Rumors abound of a Tokyo bid, said to be set for the Odaiba region of the city. Tokyo’s popular and intelligent Governor Yuriko Koike (who may even have ambitions to move to national politics) has quietly been taking the steps necessary to keep her options open, while not expending political capital by openly announcing a bid. The 2021 Tokyo Olympics, delayed 12 months because of the coronavirus pandemic, are unlikely to interfere. A Tokyo bid would immediately energize and attract 屬於地方選址的 和歌山 ，長期在縣知事仁坂吉伸的領導下， 同樣地對競投IR項目感興趣。仁坂吉伸於2019年5月接受《亞博 匯》訪問時稱：「就我個人而言，客觀地說，和歌山一定會奪得其中 一張牌照。 我深信（中央）政府亦將持相同意見。這項目前途明一 片光明，所以我們如此熱衷於此。」 和歌山的態度自那時起就一直沒改變過。仁坂知事認為和歌 山離大阪很近，開車僅需75分鐘。但一些分析師們卻認為，在大阪 和和歌山同時建設度假村並不合理。 長崎 位於日本最西端的九州島，是另外一個極力推崇IR的地 區。其副知事平田研在知事中村法道的領導下指揮這一工作。長 崎正積極嘗試吸引更多候選運營商的興趣，以提高其RFP流程的 競爭力。其度假村候選地荷蘭主題公園豪斯登堡久負盛名。專家 們指出，這個地方距離最近的福岡機場太遠，接近100分鐘車程。 曾有人提出可以開通高速渡輪，但即便如此，從福岡機場出發仍 需花上一個多小時。 長崎自稱「九州候選人」，因為其得到了九州地方知事會的支 持。該會匯集了九州地區的七個縣，以及山口縣（在本州島西端正 對著九州）和沖繩縣（遠在九州和台灣之間）。 橫濱擁有得天獨厚的地理位置，位於擁有3800萬人口的東京 都會區，是全球人口最多的都會區。天氣好的時候，從橫濱到東京 市中心火車站的車程最快僅需20分鐘。 然而現年74歲的橫濱市長林文子卻面臨著一場艱難的鬥爭，