Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2021年3月 亞博匯 58 Yamashita Pier is the proposed site of a Yokohama IR 橫濱IR的候選地山下碼頭。 JAPAN W hen Yokohama, with its excellent environment to operate an IR, expressed its intent to make a bid, most of the operators who were originally eyeing Osaka suddenly turned their focus to this city of almost 4 million people. But while operator recruitment has already begun in Yokohama, it is still far from smooth sailing. And the possibility that Yokohama’s position as the preeminent candidate location will be turned upside down, if not destroyed, is becoming more and more likely. Yokohama city is located approximately 30 minutes from central Tokyo. The city is substantial, with a population of around 3,760,000 (according to the 2020 consensus) and practical GDP of JPY1.32 billion. However, it is not impregnable. Yokohama city’s “For Yokohama’s Bright Future – Yokohama Innovation IR” PR video touches on an aging and declining population, mentioning that the working age population will decline by 730,000 by the year 2065 to 1.62 million, which is about two-thirds of the current number. It is also estimated that the elderly population will increase by 150,000 to 1.08 million. The number of listed companies and corporate tax take for Yokohama is lower than Osaka and Nagoya, not to mention Tokyo, and the government’s IR video explains that the “budget for each individual citizen is quite low.” For the past couple of years, the city has been preparing for an IR bid in an attempt to turn this crisis situation around and promote sustainable economic growth. The RFP started in January of this year, and one operator will be selected around summertime.