Municipalities across Japan are opting to withdraw from money-losing racing sports, but quite a few local bureaucrats are still racking their brains for a solution that would help revenues recover.
The city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture decided to pull out of horse-racing in June. The municipal government and those affected by the decision, including jockeys and stable workers, held negotiations on compensation, but talks bogged down. Only one of the 11 groups involved in the case reached a deal with the city.
The others demanded it pay them about 880 million yen, or the equivalent of 18 months' income. The negotiations have not been settled and the city says it is only prepared to pay about 80 million yen.
Isao Hirohata, chief of Nakatsu's horse-racing office, said: "The city has an accumulated debt of about 2.3 billion yen. It would still have a deficit of several hundred million yen even if it sold possessions such as land. The city cannot win the support of residents for any more financial burdens."