Now, the betting man might not put money on Wakayama receiving one of Japan’s initial two casinos. But should the resorts launch in a smooth manner, future gambling expansion might follow to more rural destinations.<\/p>\n
Though the Diet isn’t talking publicly about the gambling bill’s developments, it’s generally assumed that smaller, rural areas are no longer being considered. “Where did the view that this was for local revitalization go?” Nisaka asked last month.<\/p>\n
The primary issuing hurting Wakayama’s chances of hosting a casino resort is that the Diet is expected to charge a costly entrance fee for locals that could be as much as $100 per visit. The admission fee is seen as a safeguard to reduce the likelihood of problem gambling among Japanese citizens.<\/p>\n
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That means the resorts will need to rely on international visitors, and while Japan is trying to make the country a tourism destination, for now that will primarily depend on business travelers who like to gamble. Tokyo is by far the largest financial hub, home to such mega-corporations as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Hitachi, and Sony, and that has to weigh heavily in its favor in this arena.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Wakayama, on the other hand, has seen its population decline in recent years, and is now the least-populated prefecture in the Kansai region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How do you get front-of-mind attention when you’re a David in a sea of Goliaths, all vying for one of Japan’s precious casino projects? For Wakayama, a district on the Kii Peninsula of Japan’s Honshu Island, a fair amount of creativity is going into how best to beat out more obvious and better-funded rivals, such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":53234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Japan's Wakayama Prefecture Pushing Global Profile in Race for Casino<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n