Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2021年6月 亞博匯 54 JAPAN T he IR bidding race in Japan has well and truly entered the middle game. The application period for prefectures to apply for an IR bid is 1 October 2021 to 28 April 2022 by which time local governments must each select an operator to partner with and submit their joint application. Yokohama, Osaka, Nagasaki and Wakayama are the four locations to have confirmed their intention to participate at this point in time, with Aichi standing alongside Tokyo as a potential candidate that expressed an early interest without ever making a firm commitment either way. All four confirmed candidates have already begun their public offering processes and have narrowed down operators to either one or a few options. They will be finalizing these decisions in summer before applying to the national government. Despite this, IAG understands that there are still a handful of operators showing interest in and even holding out for Aichi prefecture. So why Aichi, and what are the prefecture’s thoughts? IAG digs a bit deeper. IS IT LIGHTS OUT FOR AICHI? While Aichi prefecture has previously shown interest in an IR bid, at the Prefectural Assembly last September the prefectural policy planning bureau director stated, “We are proceeding with inspections and research at Central Japan International Airport and the surrounding area (50 hectares on the airport