Osaka citizens to challenge IR bid to the government

Not so fast. This is the sentiment in Osaka, Japan where a private group of citizens has collected a sufficient number of signatures to initiate a broader debate and referendum on whether the prefecture should be hosting an integrated resort in the first place. The group is firmly against the arrival of integrated resorts on the territory of the prefecture, citing a number of reasons, including environmental and socioeconomic concerns as to why the project should be averted.

They are running against a deadline set by the central government which will soon have to decide which prefecture in Japan may host the first of three IRs planned for the country through 2030 and beyond. But the group has legal muster, too, having collected 2% of the voting population with 157,000 signatures presently.

The group believes it may launch a strong legal challenge to the arrival of an IR by petitioning the Election Administration Committee. The committee may clear the signatures as valid and then send the matter to the governor’s office which may call a referendum. But before an actual referendum can be held, the measure would need to clear the city council which is presently dominated by pro-IR politicians it seems.

Nevertheless, the group is determined to attempt and get the measure cleared in the first place. The council’s opinions, the group argues, are not reflecting those of the broader public it says. The group argues that the petition will further prohibit any IR project from launching unless it’s put to a vote. While a citizen-led opposition may not seem like an inescapable challenge, there are already precedents where civil society has challenged IR projects.

For example, Yokohama, another prefecture applying for a casino resort license from the central government also received a similar petition with 190,000 signatures. While the local city council did not agree to hold a referendum, the prefecture eventually withdrew from the race, because of a change in government.

In Wakayama, another prefecture that failed to muster a proper bid to the central government, citizens also objected to the idea of an integrated resort. But in none of those instances did they sway the actual mind of politicians. Wakayama’s bid failed, for example, because council members were not entirely certain whether Clairvest, the company bidding to build the IR, was capable of mustering the necessary funding to carry on with the project. It was ultimately decided against it.

Whether Osaka’s public group will have bigger support and success remains to be seen in the coming weeks.

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