Casino enticement in Okinawa

Kanako Bise, OCU

Building a casino is not the right way to improve tourism in Okinawa. Today, in Okinawa there is a proposition to build a Casino for the Okinawa tourism industry. This suggestion has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, supporters of the idea think it will increase tourist income. On the other hand, opponents of the idea think it will have a bad effect on young people in Okinawa. I agree with the latter. I don’t have a favorable impression of the casino industry because I think that it isn't good for Okinawa.

The advantage of bringing a casino to Okinawa is the expected economic boost. For example, it is believed that it will lead to gains in the job market. It will increase tourist interest from foreign countries, and then many people will visit Okinawa. There will also be job growth in infrastructure-building. But I don’t think building a casino is a good way to develop the Okinawa tourism industry because gambling has some serious disadvantages.

The problem with a casino is that it will increase the number of people who become addicted to gambling, which could increase the risk of crime. Pachinko parlors throughout the island already create a wealth of addicts, do we need more? And there is a negative effect on young people and the community environment. In addition, it will lead to an increase in crime. It will produce a widening disparity between the rich and poor. Therefore, the disadvantages of building a Casino outweigh the advantages.

In my opinion, there is another way to develop the Okinawa tourism industry. For example, building a USJ theme park in Nago. This project is more palatable because in Okinawa there isn't an amusement park and amusement parks are appropriate for families. So if USJ is built, Okinawa will become more developed than now. This will bring more development than a Casino. In addition, this will be visited by not just foreign tourists but also Japanese people, whereas the casino is mainly aimed at foreign tourists.

These days, Okinawa faces the challenge of creating a long-term, sustainable tourism industry. Now in Okinawa the tourism industry is growing but in the future, it will stagnate because Okinawa has a lot of beautiful places but doesn`t have an entertainment park. So Okinawa should harness its natural spaces and build an entertainment park. Doing this will increase the number of family tourists. This project is more palatable because in Okinawa there isn't an amusement park and amusement parks are more appropriate for families than a casino.

In conclusion, building a Casino is not best way to develop the Okinawa tourism industry because it will increase the number of people addicted to gambling and there will be a negative effect on young people and the community environment. Instead, Okinawa should build an entertainment park. We need to take an active interest in Okinawa, how to best develop it and plan for its future.