Japan transforms Yumeshima into a technological and tourism hub around MGM Osaka

Almost fifty years ago, Japan built an artificial island in Osaka Bay to house a container terminal and a waste treatment plant. This former landfill is now being transformed into what local authorities describe as a "global tourism hub," as part of a plan approved in 2017 to attract industry and investment to Osaka Prefecture.

The destination's anchor will be MGM Osaka, the integrated resort developed by MGM Resorts International alongside Japan's Orix Corporation, with an investment of around 3.92 billion dollars and a planned opening for 2030.

Yumeshima has just hosted World Expo 2025 under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. The preceding months were marked by cost overruns, construction delays, and lukewarm public interest, but the event ended up being a resounding success: more than 25 million attendees and exhibitors from 158 countries.

The pavilions showcased next-generation innovations in technology, healthcare, and sustainable energy: flying cars, an artificial heart grown from stem cells, and an artificial intelligence robot capable of guiding visually impaired people.

According to estimates published by the Japanese press, the Expo could generate about 3,920 million dollars in profits. And the former exhibition grounds will now serve as the foundation for the future technology and entertainment hub: a cluster of commercial and leisure facilities that will flank the integrated resort.

MGM Osaka alone expects to attract 20 million people annually. In addition to Japan's first casino, it will include MICE facilities, hotels, restaurants, retail spaces, and entertainment venues. Toyonori Takahashi, a representative of Orix in the Kansai region, has stated that the complex will compete with Asia's established resorts, “particularly in Macau and Singapore”.

Hideyuki Araki, of the Resona Research Institute, considers that the new development will benefit all parties involved: “The Expo site is huge, and synergy with the integrated resort is expected. It is important not to limit ourselves to a one-off major development, but rather to adopt strategies with a medium- and long-term economic perspective”.

Investors have already put proposals on the table for the island that include a Formula 1 circuit, new luxury hotels, and a water park.

The integrated resort remains controversial. A November 2024 survey showed that nearly a third of Japanese people continue to oppose the project due to fears of gambling addiction: 30.6% support it, 36.7% declare themselves neutral, and the rest are opposed.

Sociologist Hiroki Ogasawara from Kobe University summarizes the critical stance by pointing out that casinos are built on “greed, desire, and the pursuit of economic wealth for only a handful of people.”

The governor of Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, argues the opposite. At the groundbreaking ceremony of MGM Osaka last April, he assured that the complex “will create an extraordinary space, generate new tourist and business demand, and act as a catalyst for Osaka’s economic growth.”