Universal Studios Park à Taipei, Jakarta, Mumbai, Kyushu et/ou Okinawa ? (2020)

Le parc Universal Studios Japan accueillera cette année, et pour la première fois depuis son ouverture en 2001, plus de 10 millions de visiteurs.

USJ Company Ltd., qui opère le parc d'Osaka sous licence, souhaite continuer à développer ses activités mais vu la configuration des environs immédiats du parc japonais, les possibilités de développement sont limitées et compliquées.

USJ Company Ltd. planifie dès lors la création d'un ou plusieurs nouveaux parcs à thème en Asie. L'entreprise basée à Osaka à déjà un œil sur quatre ou cinq sites : Taipei (Taiwan), Jakarta (Indonésie), Mumbai (Inde) et deux sites au Japon (Kyushu et Okinawa) seraient parmi les emplacements envisagés.


Universal Studios Japan operator to construct new theme parks

Universal Studios Japan, a hugely popular Hollywood movie theme park here, is now so crimped for space its operator is looking to develop new sites domestically or abroad.

USJ Co., based in Osaka’s Konohana Ward, said its decision stemmed from the fact the current site is surrounded by factories and other buildings that would make enlarging the park difficult.

The park has been dealing with brisk crowd levels. Additional facilities would ease congestion and help achieve further growth.

USJ has already chosen four or five candidate sites, which would be equal in size to the Osaka park, and is currently negotiating with local companies that could become business partners.

According to USJ sources, one of the candidate sites is in Japan.

“It will be an area other than the Kansai region (where Universal Studios Japan is located) or the Kanto region where Tokyo Disney Resort is located,” one of the sources said.

This suggests the area will be in the Tohoku region or the Kyushu region, including Okinawa Prefecture.

As for overseas candidate sites, the source said, “They will be in urban areas (of Asia) that have large populations and rising income levels.”

Taipei in Taiwan, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Mumbai in India are reportedly among the possible spots.

The Asahi Shimbun - le 20 février 2014.

USJ Company Ltd. souhaite achever le ou les nouveaux parcs à thème avant l'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques d'été 2020 qui se tiendront à Tokyo.  

Le nombre de parcs n'a pas encore été arrêté de manière définitive. Pour mener à bien son projet, USJ Company Ltd. s'associe avec plusieurs partenaires asiatiques intéressés à cofinancer l'investissement.

USJ Company Ltd. ne souhaite pas (encore) commenter le contenu de ce(s) nouveau(x) parc(s) à thème.

Kyodo News International et The Japan Times ont annoncé hier un possible projet à Yumeshima, près d'Osaka :


Universal Studios Japan may seek casino license ahead of deregulation

The operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is considering bidding for a license to operate a casino complex in the western Japanese city once gambling regulations are relaxed, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.

USJ Co., which operates the theme park featuring popular Hollywood movies, is likely to team up with other parties interested in the new business and lead a consortium, the sources said.

An amusement complex with a casino and a theme park may be placed on an artificial island known as Yumeshima, some 3 kilometers away from USJ, according to a blueprint set by local authorities.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and two opposition parties last December jointly submitted to parliament a bill that would allow casinos, with an eye toward stimulating tourism and investment.

The proponents are pushing for passage of the legislation in next year's Diet session.

Osaka Prefecture is among six prefectural authorities seeking to host casino complexes under the new regulation. The others are Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Okinawa.

Kyodo News International - 5 juillet 2014.


USJ eager to pursue casino license in advance

OSAKA – The operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is considering bidding for a license to operate a casino complex in the city should gambling regulations ease, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.

USJ Co., which operates the popular Hollywood theme park, is likely to team up with other interested parties and lead a consortium, the sources said.

It envisions an amusement complex comprising a casino and a theme park being built on Yumeshima, an man-made island about 3 km away from USJ, according to a blueprint drafted by local authorities.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and two opposition parties last December jointly submitted a bill to the Diet to legalize casinos as the government looks for new ways to stimulate tourism and investment.

The proponents are pushing to pass legislation next year.

Osaka is among six prefectural authorities seeking to host casino complexes. The others are Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Okinawa.

The Japan Times - 5 juillet 2014.


Le premier projet de loi visant à légaliser le jeu pourrait passer à l'automne ou l'année prochaine. Le deuxième projet de loi délimitant les règles pourrait passer en 2015 ou 2016. Plusieurs acteurs mondiaux qui anticipent l'ouverture du jeu au Japon sont déjà en train de se positionner. Parmi eux, on retrouve : Las Vegas Sands, Genting, MGM Resorts et Melco Crown Entertainment.

D'après Okinawa Times, USJ Company Ltd. serait entré en négociation pour acquérir un terrain de 30 hectares à Nago, ville touristique située dans la partie Nord de l'île d'Okinawa, et planifierait d'y investir entre vingt et trente milliards de yen. L'ouverture du nouveau parc d'attractions serait prévue pour 2018.

Confirmation de la construction d'un parc à thème sur l'île d'Okinawa, les autres sites (Taipei, Jakarta, Mumbai, Kyushu) seraient toujours à l'étude. Il ne s'agirait pas d'un parc similaire aux parcs Universal Studios déjà opérés à Osaka ou Singapour. Le projet de complexe de casino à Yumeshima n'a par contre pas évolué, les projets de loi visant à autoriser et réglementer le jeu ayant étés reportés à une date non définie à l'heure actuelle.

Citation :

Universal Studios Japan Planning New Theme Park on Okinawa

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is planning to open a theme park on the southern island of Okinawa, possibly on the site of a U.S. military base which is due to relocate within the prefecture.

The current USJ park in Osaka has received record numbers of visitors this fiscal year since the opening of the hugely popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Okinawa park will be based on local themes from the tropical island rather than Hollywood and Japanese movie franchises, said USJ CEO Glenn Gumpel, talking to the media in Osaka.

Okinawa is also attracting record visitor numbers, with more tourists coming from China and other Asian territories than ever before. However, the island is still home to nearly two-thirds of the U.S. military bases in Japan and, despite some strong local opposition, is heavily economically reliant on them.

A new large-scale theme park would be a welcome boost to the local economy, particularly if it was built on the controversial Futenma Marine base, which has been a thorn in the side of various administrations, which have attempted to move it from its current location in a densely-populated part of the island.

Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary and government spokesperson, hailed the prospect of a new USJ on Okinawa, saying it would bring major benefits to the island.

Rumors of a new theme park have been circulating since early last year, with the a local Okinawan newspaper running an article in July saying that a $200 million (￥25 billion) park would open on the site of the Futenma base, but not specifying whether this would be a USJ park. $200 million would be less than half what USJ spent on the Harry Potter expansion, which is effectively a park of its own in Osaka.

Gumpel didn't announce a timeframe, budget or location for the Okinawa park.

USJ also has also been looking into the potential for more Universal Studios parks in other Asian countries.

The Hollywood Reporter - 18 mars 2015.

Universal Studios Japan Plans Okinawa Theme Park

Universal Studios Japan plans to build a new theme park in Okinawa, USJ president Glenn Gumpel announced.
 
Details, including when the park will open, are still undecided, but USJ plans to build in the vicinity of Neo Park Okinawa, a zoo where animals live in natural habitats, in Nago, the island’s second-largest city.
 
Gumpel said that the projected park will be smaller than USJ in Osaka and Tokyo Disneyland, and use Okinawa, not Hollywood movies content, for inspiration.
 
Known for its distinctive culture and cuisine, as well as its mild semi-tropical climate, Okinawa is trying to sell itself as an Asian tourist destination. Development of the leisure industry, however, has been slowed by a massive US military presence, with more than half of the US bases in Japan sited on the island.

A plan to relocate the US Futenma airfield to an offshore site in Nago’s Henoko coastal district has become an electoral issue and led to protests from residents, who claim the construction work will damage the environment.  

Variety - 18 mars 2015.

Comcast Corporation serait sceptique quand au succès d'un parc à thème sur l'île d'Okinawa et tarde à donner le feu vert au projet initié par le partenaire japonais USJ Company Ltd. (racheté entre-temps par Comcast Corp., actionnaire majoritaire de USJ Co. depuis novembre dernier avec 51 % de l'actionnariat) :

Citation :

USJ may scrap planned Okinawa theme park

The operator of Universal Studios Japan is considering scrapping plans for a theme park in Okinawa as the figures may not add up, sources said Thursday.

U.S. parent company Comcast Corp. has been reluctant to give the green light and USJ Co. is looking at whether the likely visitor numbers would make the investment worthwhile, the sources said.

The company announced its plans for an Okinawa park in March 2015. The then-CEO of USJ Co., Glenn Gumpel, said the park would be large, but not as big as the Universal Studios Japan park it runs in Osaka.

It would fit the ambience of Okinawa, he told a news conference in Osaka, saying it would not necessarily be based on movies or television programs.

USJ opened in 2001 in Osaka, where the park is now a major tourist draw.

The sources say USJ was laying groundwork for a U.S. movie theme park in Okinawa’s Ocean Expo Park — which has a range of other existing attractions, including Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

In July last year, Glenn Gumpel visited Okinawa and agreed to cooperate with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga over building the park by 2020.

But the plan was put on hold after Comcast’s acquisition of a 51 percent stake in USJ in November.

At a news conference on Feb. 1, new USJ CEO Jean Louis Bonnier said little about the Okinawa plans, remarking only that the matter is under assessment.

USJ found a magical cure for low ticket sales when in July 2014 it opened a Harry Potter-themed attraction. In fiscal 2014 it drew a record 12.7 million visitors. The projections for fiscal 2015 are even rosier.

As talk continues about USJ’s possible entry into Okinawa, a proposal has arisen to try to lure a Disney resort to the prefecture.

The mayor of Ginowan city, home to U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, has suggested Disney might like to set up something on the land the base currently sits on. The central government has expressed its support for the idea.

USJ had its best month ever in October 2015, drawing around 1.75 million visitors as Halloween events attracted a large number of non-Japanese and families.

The figure surpassed the previous record of approximately 1.46 million posted in October 2014.

The count was boosted by the continued popularity of the Harry Potter attraction and Universal Wonderland, which was renovated in March to attract children and parents.

TJT - 18 février 2016.

Le projet de parc à thème sur l'île d'Okinawa est abandonné, le rachat de USJ Company Ltd. par Comcast Corp., sceptique au sujet de la viabilité du projet, aura été fatal :

Citation :

USJ cancels planned theme park in Okinawa

The operator of Universal Studios Japan has canceled plans for a theme park in Okinawa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. He said USJ will instead focus investment on its existing USJ park in Osaka.

The central government had earmarked ¥120 million in the fiscal 2016 budget bill to bring the theme park to Okinawa. The venture was seen as likely to boost the local economy.

Tokyo has been casting about for ways to diffuse local opposition to the relocation of a major U.S. military facility within Okinawa.

USJ’s cancelation is “extremely regrettable,” Suga told a news conference Wednesday. “The government will do whatever it can to promote Okinawa’s economy,” he said, adding that the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and giving Okinawa an economic leg-up are “two different things.”

Jean Louis Bonnier, chief executive officer of USJ Co., told a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office of the decision in person, Suga said.

Bonnier is from USJ’s parent company, U.S. media and cable operator giant Comcast Corp., which was reluctant to proceed with the project from a commercial perspective.

The plan to build a theme park in Okinawa by 2020 was devised before Comcast acquired a controlling 51 percent stake in USJ last November.

The Japan Times - 12 mai 2016.

Citation :

USJ scraps plan to build theme park in Okinawa

USJ Co., the operating company of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, said Wednesday that it has dropped a much heralded plan to open a theme park in Okinawa Prefecture, in whose economy the government saw the project playing a key part.

USJ Chief Executive Jean-Louis Bonnier informed Hiroto Izumi, special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, of his company’s decision to scrap the plan at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference the same day that the USJ decision was “extremely regrettable” but the government cannot interfere with a private firm’s business affairs.

The company told the government that it now intends to concentrate its investment in Osaka, Suga said.

Early last year, USJ unveiled the plan to open in Okinawa its second theme park in Japan. Unlike the Osaka park centered on movie-themed attractions, the Okinawa park was to focus on the subtropical nature of the prefecture.

But the project was placed under review by the new management team sent to USJ by major U.S. media company Comcast Corp., which acquired the Japanese theme park operator last November.

On Wednesday, Bonnier also met with Okinawa Vice Gov. Mitsuo Ageda in Naha to inform him of the decision.

“I’m really disappointed,” Ageda told reporters. Okinawa needs to find various other ways to promote local tourism from now on, he added.

The Japan Times - 12 mai 2016.

Citation :

USJ pulls out of Okinawa theme park project over profit doubts

USJ Co., operator of the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka Prefecture, has scrapped plans to open a second venture in Okinawa due to doubts about its profitability.

J.L. Bonnier, USJ's CEO, visited the prime minister's office in Tokyo on May 11 and informed Hiroto Izumi, a special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that the company had abandoned the project.

The central government had provided support for the proposed attraction as part of its economic stimulation measures.

At his May 11 regular news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed disappointment at the decision.

"While it was a corporate decision made by a private-sector company, it is extremely disappointing that a move into Okinawa was deferred," he said.

Bonnier also flew to Okinawa on May 11 and informed prefectural government officials of the decision. Vice Governor Mitsuo Ageda called the decision "very regrettable."

USJ operates the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka Prefecture and had decided to open an additional attraction because space restrictions made an expansion of the Osaka park difficult.

The company announced in March 2015 that it was planning to build a second theme park in Okinawa.

A likely site for the attraction was the Ocean Expo Park, a national government park in Motobu that hosts the famed Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Initial plans looked to the new theme park opening in 2020.

However, those plans were changed after USJ was acquired by U.S. media giant Comcast Corp. last November.

Comcast officials cast doubts on the profitability of opening an Okinawa park and decided instead to concentrate their resources on the Osaka theme park, which has been hugely profitable.

USJ officials said there were no plans at present to reconsider a possible move into Okinawa.

Government officials held expectations the project would help bolster the Okinawa economy.

In the 2014 Okinawa gubernatorial election campaign, Suga spoke on behalf of the incumbent who supported the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan, in central Okinawa, to the Henoko area of Nago, also in Okinawa.

At that time, Suga said: "The government will provide support to efforts to bring the theme park to Okinawa as a key element of economic stimulation measures."

Suga visited a potential site in August 2015 and other government officials had also begun considering deregulation measures that would be necessary to allow the theme park to be built.

The central government also included 120 million yen ($1.1 million) in this fiscal year's budget for Okinawa economic stimulation measures to pay for studies to promote the construction of a major tourism base in the northern part of the prefecture.

The Asahi Shimbun - 12 mai 2016.

Citation :

USJ withdraws plan to open theme park in Okinawa

The operator of Universal Studios Japan has withdrawn its plan to open a theme park in Okinawa as it prefers to focus investment on its existing USJ park in Osaka, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.


The central government had earmarked 120 million yen ($1.1 million) in the fiscal 2016 budget bill to bring the theme park to the southern island prefecture and boost its local economy. Tokyo has cast about for ways to diffuse local opposition to the relocation of a major U.S. military facility -- the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma -- to elsewhere in Okinawa.

"The withdrawal of the plan is extremely regrettable," Suga told a press conference. "The government will do whatever it can to promote Okinawa's economy," he said, adding the base relocation and economic promotion measures for Okinawa are "two different things."

Jean Louis Bonnier, the chief executive officer of USJ Co., came in person to tell a senior official of the prime minister's office of the decision, according to Suga.

Bonnier is from USJ's parent company, U.S. media and cable operator giant Comcast Corp., which was reluctant to proceed with the project from a commercial perspective. The plan to build a theme park in Okinawa by 2020 was devised before Comcast acquired a controlling 51 percent stake in USJ last November.

The Mainichi - 12 mai 2016.

Et c'est pas plus mal à mon sens. Mieux vaudrait développer le parc actuel et pourquoi pas en faire un vrai resort avec une extension digne de ce nom, plutôt que de s'éparpiller avec en plus un concept de parc qui n'aurait rien eu à voir avec Universal (d'après les informations qu'on en avait).