According to the Nikkei, MGM has agreed to forego the withdrawal option, which had allowed the company to pull out at any time until September 2026 pending certain conditions such as tourism to Japan falling short of pre-pandemic levels, investment requirements spiralling or unexpected issues emerging with the Yumeshima Island site.

It is also reported that builders have expressed reservations about signing onto the project due to uncertainty around its future.

MGM declined to comment when contacted by Inside Asian Gaming on Sunday and it is unclear whether the reported forfeiture of withdrawal rights is related to a recent request by organizers of next year’s World Expo to pause construction of the Osaka IR for six months due to concerns around noise and visuals.

As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, MGM began land preparatory work on the 21-hectare site late last year with the goal of preventing liquefaction and firming up the land base. Those liquefaction measures are expected to continue throughout the Osaka Expo and be completed by April 2027 at a cost of JPY25.5 billion ($173 million).

Other preparatory work such as setting up fences, offices and laying out power lines, will be completed by spring of 2025, the Nikkei said.

Completion and opening of the IR itself has already been pushed back by a year to 2030.

Osaka IR Corporation, the joint venture between MGM Resorts International and local partner ORIX Corporation, officially signed the Implementation Agreement for development of an Osaka IR in late September 2023, paving the way for construction works to begin.

Once complete, the IR is projected to include 2,500 hotel rooms across three hotel brands, 730,000 square feet of MICE space and tourism facilities to showcase the best of Osaka and Japan.