Japan: Osaka should be born the first casino in the history of the archipelago

The port of Osaka, Japan, in 2020. AFP - PHILIP FONG

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Japan approves the opening of its very first casino. It will see the light of day in Osaka in 2029, hoping to attract Asian tourists especially. Japan was the only industrialized country to ban casinos. The legalization of this industry in 2016 is still controversial.

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With our correspondent in Tokyo, Frédéric Charles

Japan hesitated for more than twenty years before passing a law in Parliament allowing the opening of casinos.

The parliamentarians were concerned about gambling addiction, a rapidly growing pathology in the archipelago. Many Japanese are "addicted" to pachinko, a kind of vertical billiards using metal marbles.

The government is counting on the opening of casinos and the massive arrival of foreign tourists to boost growth and compensate for the accelerated aging of its population.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the opening of a first casino in Osaka, the country's third-largest city, should "contribute to the development of the region and convey Japan's attractions to the world."

Osaka authorities estimate the economic impact of an integrated leisure complex including hotel, shopping malls, cinemas and casino at nearly eight billion euros per year.

With the creation of 15,000 jobs. They expect to welcome twenty million visitors a year from Japan and abroad.

This opening of a first casino in Osaka should be followed by others in Tokyo, Nagasaki and perhaps in the island of Hokkaido. They could generate revenues equal to or greater than those in Las Vegas.

► Read also: In Japan, the passion for the game stronger than the fear of the coronavirus (2020)

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• Japan
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• Fumio Kishida