The April 28 deadline for local governments to apply to host a casino-centered integrated resort (IR) offers a compelling opportunity for the central government to rethink this wrong-headed initiative based on a fresh, hard look at the realities.

Only the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments and the Nagasaki prefectural administration applied for central government approval of IR development plans by the deadline as two other candidates--the city of Yokohama and Wakayama Prefecture--dropped out.

While international tourism is not expected to recover from the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic anytime soon, online conferences and business negotiations have become the norm. These new realities cast serious doubt on the demand for international convention centers, key components of IRs.

When the Wakayama prefectural assembly rejected on April 20 the prefectural governor’s draft plans to build an IR featuring a casino in the capital of the prefecture, even some assembly members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the leading champion of the IR initiative, voted against the proposal.

Assembly members of both camps voiced skepticism about the local administration’s financing plans and estimates of the economic benefits.

The government and the LDP-led ruling coalition have been forging ahead with the initiative, a centerpiece of the ruling camp’s growth strategy, by utilizing their majorities. But they should now stop to make a cool-headed evaluation of what has occurred since the idea was first floated.

The local governments that actually made applications are facing many problems and challenges.

The Nagasaki prefectural government’s plans to finance the 438.3 billion yen ($3.37 billion) of initiative investment for its IR development project involve massive borrowing to secure 60 percent of the amount and raising the rest from corporate investors.

But the local government has kept the names and other information about the prospective investors secret. It refused a request for disclosure at the prefectural assembly, citing the wishes of the companies involved.

The prefectural assembly’s vote for the project does not qualify as a well-informed and well-thought-out decision. There remains a lot of distrust and anxiety among the people in the prefecture.

Osaka’s plan to develop an IR in a man-made island in Osaka Bay faces the risk of soil liquefaction.

A group of Japanese and U.S. companies selected to invest in the resort complex asked the Osaka municipal government, which owns the land, to take steps to deal with the issue. Subsequently, the local administration decided to use 79 billion yen in public funds to cover all costs for measures against soil liquefaction and contamination.

The decision has been criticized as violating the administration’s promise that the project would not place any financial burden on citizens.

Both Osaka and Nagasaki need to reveal the details of their IR plans not only to local residents but also to the entire Japanese public to fulfill their responsibility to be accountable for their policy decisions.

The land ministry will scrutinize their plans to determine whether they are reasonable and viable.

In addition to business issues such as the international competitiveness of the envisioned casino resorts, the screening should also look into questions of concerned taxpayers.

These include the possibility that local residents will be forced to foot the huge construction costs and who will take responsibility if the selected operator withdraws and in what ways.

Japan already has government-controlled gambling games and betting sports, such as pachinko, keirin and horse racing. There are concerns that the introduction of casino gambling could increase the problem of gambling addiction. 

Asahi Shimbun editorials have repeatedly called for meticulous and in-depth debate on what regional revitalization should mean and what should be done to achieve the goal.

In a public hearing on the Wakayama IR project held in March by the prefectural government, one speaker said, “What is needed now is the courage to stop and turn back.”

This is a great message the government should take seriously.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 29