Joji Kokuryo, managing partner of Bay City Ventures, speaks with Michael Penn, the executive editor of AGB Nippon, about the candidate locations to host an IR in Japan.

Bay City Ventures’ Joji Kokuryo says that what could happen, will happen in Japan, as he recommends patience, and highlights Manpower as arguably one of the biggest challenges towards the development of the IRs in the country.

Bay City Ventures’ Joji Kokuryo argues that what could happen, will happen in Japan as he alerts the industry’s need for patience as the political situation crystallizes.

Japan’s intention was always to have three IR locations and it would make most sense to reopen the license application process to allow new entrants, says industry consultant Joji Kokuryo.

When it comes to gambling in Japan, the world has been keenly focused on the development of an integrated resort industry. However, as Joji Kokuryo, managing director of Bay City Ventures writes, the country already has a vibrant and evolving gambling scene.

With their large development areas and “room for interpretation” of the 3% rule provided in the latest regulation draft, Japan’s casinos “may end up as some of the largest in the world,” according to the latest analysis of Joji Kokuryo, managing director of the Tokyo-based gaming consultancy Bay City Ventures.

The non-gaming investment requirements for Macau gaming concessionaires are already reshaping the Special Administrative Region, according to industry experts interviewed by AGB.

The Japanese government could start considering opening another integrated resort concession application tender around July to August, a Japan-based gaming professional stated.

The IR-positive outcome in the recent Osaka election was "always the expected result", according to a Japanese gaming expert, noting that even so public opinion still could inhibit the overall process.

The possibility of "regulated online casinos in Japan is still very far away”, says the general manager of Japan-based gaming firm Bay City Ventures.