According to the Japan Times, preparatory works for developing the Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka Bay started less than 500 days before the expo is due to open in spring, 2025.

The Osaka prefectural and municipal governments announced on Tuesday that the opening of MGM's casino resort on Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka Bay has been postponed to the autumn of 2030. This delay is attributed to the protracted process of gaining central government approval and an unexpected surge in construction material costs.

Osaka is likely to remain Japan's only integrated resort location for some time, as the evaluation of the plan approved by authorities barely passed the minimum certification criteria – ranking at just 65.79 percent from a minimum of 60 percent, notes analyst Daniel Cheng.

Genting Singapore confirms it is fully out of the race for a potential IR in Japan, noting in a pre-AGM release that the company ‘previously pursued a bid to develop an integrated resort in Yokohama City, but this was discontinued when Yokohama City decided to cancel the […] integrated resort bid process’.

Japan's central government could decide to give a green light to Osaka’s plan for an integrated resort (IR) still this week, however Nagasaki's IR plan is still pending.

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.

Osaka’s governor says that the casino business planned to open in the city would be “perfectly viable without the Chinese tourists”.

Clairvest Neem has rejected allegations that its financing plan for a failed bid for an integrated resort in Wakayama was “unclear” and said it will continue to look for opportunities in Japan.

The Osaka government unveiled its plans for an integrated resort on Yumeshima Island on Tuesday, saying the project is expected to open in autumn/winter of fiscal 2029.

Melco Resorts said it will continue to explore opportunities in Japan after politics upended its efforts to obtain a license in Yokohama.