Nagasaki Court Opens Hearing Against IR Spending

Nagasaki District Court has opened hearings in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the governor of Nagasaki from spending more public money on integrated resort (IR) plans. In September, the Stop the Casino Nagasaki Prefectural Network claimed funds had been used improperly because the IR application was unlikely to be approved by Japan’s national government.

Plaintiffs also argued that letters sent by the prefecture to the central government did not meet requirements. They also challenged a contract for circa JPY110m ($761,500) with a law firm and other advisors and claimed the prefecture “never engaged in a proper confirmation” of its IR plans.

A representative for the prefectural government indicated that the payment was proper because certain works related to the assessment of the proposal had to be carried out. The next court session is scheduled for December.