Next year’s Rugby World Cup could be followed by the opening of an integrated casino resort in 2023 and a World Expo in 2025.

Tetsuya Kaneko, head of research and consultancy at Savills Japan, says: “These landmark events will boost the city’s economy over the next seven years and real estate can benefit from all of them. Furthermore, the real estate market and the broader Osaka economy have recovered strongly in recent years and are in good shape today.”

Next year, Japan is host to the Rugby World Cup, which is expected to bring 400,000 extra tourists, many of whom will be high-spending travellers from outside Asia. Osaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium will host some matches, as will neighbouring Kobe and the city’s hotels, bars and shops are set to benefit.

A longer-term boost could come from gaming. In April, a bill establishing a framework for integrated casino resorts in Japan was approved by cabinet and Osaka governor Ichiro Matsui said the city could have an integrated resort up and running by 2023. Up to three locations in Japan will be able to develop an integrated resort and Osaka’s bid is expected to be a strong one. An undeveloped island in Osaka Bay is earmarked for the casino resort.

Kaneko says: “An integrated resort will bring revenues to the city and create jobs. There will also be a positive effect on retail and hospitality real estate, with increasing numbers of wealthy tourists. Osaka is in a prime position to grow tourism as it has plenty of airport capacity, something Tokyo lacks.”

Osaka is vying with Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and Yekaterinburg in Russia to host the 2025 World Expo. The city’s bid focuses on Osaka and the wider Kansai region’s history of scientific research.

If successful, the expo would showcase Osaka to the world, especially to developing nations where trade growth could be significant. Visitors from 145 countries came to the Turin Expo in 2015, while there were representatives from 246 nations at the Shanghai Expo in 2010. Any boost to trade will also benefit the logistics and office market, while retail and hospitality real estate will be boosted during the event.

The city’s real estate fundamentals are also good: the average vacancy for high-grade offices is below 1% and rents rose 11.9% in the first half of this year, according to Savills research. Retail rents in the key Shinsaibashi district rose over 20% in the first half of this year. Meanwhile logistics vacancy has fallen to below 12% and asking rents have risen as the market absorbs excess space.

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Tetsuya Kaneko