Kitakyushu wasn’t mentioned among the potential suitors for a gaming venue when Japanese authorities published a list of interested cities a couple of months ago.<\/strong><\/p>\nSome Benefits<\/h2>\n
While Kitakyushu is smaller than some of the other cities vying to land an integrated resort, it has some geographic benefits. For example, the overall population of Kyushu Island is close to 13 million.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Kitakyushu’s proximity to other major Asian cities outside Japan is superior to that of Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama. Kitakyushu is closer to Seoul, Shanghai, and Taipei, three of the region’s largest cities, than any of its aforementioned Japanese rivals.<\/p>\n
Mayor Kitahashi believes his city has two practical locations for an integrated resort: JR Sanyo Shinkansen Kokura Station North Exit, and the Kitaku part of the Moji Ward.<\/p>\n
The Kokura Station North Exit could be preferred by gaming companies because of its accessibility via monorail and proximity to nearly a dozen hotels. That part of the city is also expected to become home to a large convention center and theme park in the coming years, potentially increasing its allure to a gaming company.<\/p>\n
Though Kitahashi is promising to examine the plan from the unidentified Hong Kong operator, he hasn’t fully committed to making Kitakyushu home to an integrated resort. The mayor noted that excluding the purchase of land, he estimates building a gaming property in the city would cost $5.5 billion, while delivering a tax benefit of $690.5 million.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kitakyushu, a city located on Kyushu Island in Southern Japan, hasn’t frequently been mentioned as a potential destination for an integrated resort. But that could change if the city throws its hat in the ring. The city’s interest in becoming home to a gaming property can be tied to recent reports quoting Mayor Kenji Kitahashi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":120279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,62],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Kitakyushu Becomes Latest Japanese City to Show IR Interest<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n