Japan's first integrated resort joint venture company's governance structure has officially been established. On May 1, 2026, the Orix Group announced the appointment of Nobuki Watanabe, the Executive Officer of its infrastructure business division, as the representative director and chairman of MGM Resorts Osaka, effective immediately. This marks a key personnel arrangement in the decision-making layer of the joint venture, which is co-owned by MGM International Hotel Group and Orix, each holding about 40% of the shares, with another 22 minor Japanese shareholders. Since April 2025, Watanabe has led the Orix Osaka Integrated Resort Project Office, directly responsible for the group's involvement in the Yumeshima Island project, and was just promoted to Executive Officer in January this year. He joined Orix in August 2001, previously served as the president of Orix Capital, and held senior positions in the group's strategic business unit and CEO's office, having started his career at Daiwa Securities and spent 25 years deepening his expertise at Orix.
Construction progress on Yumeshima Island from piling to steel structures
Simultaneously with Watanabe's appointment, this super project with a total investment of about 1.27 trillion yen (approximately 8.8 billion USD) is progressing steadily on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay. According to the latest construction update from MGM Resorts, since the project officially commenced on April 24, 2025, over 40% of the piling work has been completed, the first concrete floor slab has been poured, and the first batch of steel structures has been put in place. The completed complex will feature approximately 23,293 square meters of casino space, equipped with about 470 gaming tables and 6,400 electronic gaming devices, three hotels totaling about 2,500 rooms, and a theater with approximately 3,500 seats.
PASA official website continues to track the development progress and governance structure evolution of the Japanese integrated resort project, noting that Orix's choice of a senior executive, who has deeply cultivated the project throughout its entire cycle, to assume the highest decision-making position in the joint venture reflects the Japanese capital's accelerated transformation from financial investors to deep operational participants in Japan's first IR project.
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