Governor of potential Japanese IR location Aichi to seek 5th term in early-2027 poll

Aichi prefecture’s governor Hideaki Omura (pictured in a file photo) is seeking a fifth term as leader of that Japanese community in an election due in early 2027. Pursuit of a possible integrated resort (IR) with casino for the area is one of Mr Omura’s rationales for standing again, reported several local media outlets on Wednesday. The official campaign period for the governorship of Aichi – located on the south central coast of Japan’s largest island Honshu – begins on January 21, 2027, per news reports. Voting and ballot counting will be on February 7. Mr Omura is expected to make a formal announcement of his candidacy at the Aichi prefectural assembly session convening in December, reported local news outlets Yomiuri Shimbun and The Mainichi on Wednesday, citing sources they did not identify. The opening of the next national application round for local governments wishing to host an IR, opens on May 6, 2027, and runs until November 5, 2027. The Aichi prefectural authorities concluded on September 30 a request-for-proposal (RFP) process that solicited interest from private-sector operators for a possible IR scheme. Land adjacent to Chubu Centrair International Airport, near the city of Nagoya, has been identified as a potential site. The authorities did not disclose either the identities or the number of interested parties that participated in the RFP process, citing the need to maintain a fair competitive environment. The prefecture said it would conduct competitive dialogue with prospective developers until around the winter of the current Japanese fiscal year, which ends in March 2027. As well as pursuit of an IR, Mr Omura also wants Nagoya city within Aichi, to be one of Japan’s “secondary capital” cities, per the news outlets. The idea of creating dispersed administrative capacity beyond the capital Tokyo, is a national-government policy to make Japan more resilient in the event of major disaster. The governor of Hokkaido prefecture – another potential IR suitor – is also seeking re-election in 2027, citing ‘secondary capital’ status for Sapporo as well as pursuit of an IR. Aichi’s Mr Omura would also like to see the advancement of a delayed high-speed rail project known as the Chuo Shinkansen, to help stimulate industrial development. The under-construction route will run the 265-kilometre (165-mile) distance between Tokyo’s Shinagawa station and Aichi’s Nagoya station. Shoichiro Noguchi – a 44-year-old who heads advertising company – has already announced his candidacy for the Aichi governorship. He is the officially-endorsed candidate of Genzei Nippon, a regional political party, per local media reports. The news outlets did not mention Mr Noguchi’s position on IR.