In southern Japan and a group of local doctors has reportedly written to the Governor for Nagasaki Prefecture to voice their opposition to a plan that would see the jurisdiction host one of the nation’s trio of coming integrated casino resorts.

According to a Friday report from Inside Asian Gaming citing an earlier story from the Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper, the Nagasaki Medical Practitioners Association submitted their formal letter to Governor Hodo Nakamura (pictured) on August 7 asking that he ax the controversial proposal to bring a Las Vegas-style facility to a 74-acre plot of land next to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park.

Pointless project:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that the doctors believe the idea of Nagasaki Prefecture playing host to a large gambling-friendly venue has become increasingly superfluous as the province of approximately 1.3 million inhabitants is struggling to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The source explained that the group moreover used the recent decision by Las Vegas Sands Corporation to pull out of the race for a Japanese integrated casino resort license as firm evidence that the whole project is now ‘unnecessary and non-urgent’.

Reportedly read the letter from the Nagasaki Medical Practitioners Association…

“The basic structure of supporting an integrated casino resort’s overall profit with casino sales has crumbled. The initiatives the prefecture should be taking are to support the restoration of the lives of Nagasaki residents. Nagasaki Prefecture and Japan as a nation should withdraw its integrated casino resort bid and work instead to improve the welfare of its citizens.”

Delay danger:

Although 69-year-old Nakamura is reportedly known to be a supporter of the plan to bring an integrated casino resort to Nagasaki Prefecture, he also recently warned that the whole project could soon face a long deferment due to the federal government’s procrastination in releasing its required ‘Basic Policy’ development criteria.