Japanese investors, attracted by bargain properties and a dramatic increase in tourism here by their countrymen, have spent or committed $800 million in this entertainment capital and it's fueling an economic boom. The projects range from four hotel-casinos to a downtown office building and a massive golf course and resort development. More than 380,000 Japanese tourists are expected to visit Las Vegas this year, vs. about 300,000 in 1988. That is not lost on some of Japan's leading economic players. ``More than half the Japanese tourists who come to Los Angeles will also come to Las Vegas,'' said Yoshi Morichika, who is heading up a 1,274-acre golf and destination resort community for Japanese recreation and electronics giant Cosmo World. The project, in nearby Henderson, will include 45 holes of golf, 2,700 condominiums, apartments and luxury homes, a dozen tennis courts, a tennis stadium and a 700-room hotel. Cosmo World has projects in Japan, Europe, Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tucson. It added Las Vegas to the list ``because the land is not expensive, yet, and there is a huge volume of Japanese tourists here,'' Morichika said in an interview. Jane Wilson, who handles international marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, says Japanese tourism has been increasing at about 20 percent a year, and is expected to jump about 27 percent this year. ``If they come to the West Coast, we're going to get them,'' she said. ``In their culture, they want to go where a city is known worldwide, where there are a lot of things to do such as shows, shopping, sightseeing, et cetera.'' The growing identity of Las Vegas in Japan, bargain real estate prices, a good economic climate and the attractiveness of the city are proving a magnet for Japanese investors. The Nevada Development Authority says Las Vegas is the sixth-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. Cosmo World's resort project is expected to cost $200 million by the time it's completed in 1993. Japanese billionaire Masao Nangaku, who bought the Dunes Hotel and Casino two years ago for $157 million, is planning a 35-story high-rise office building and 300-room nongaming hotel in downtown Las Vegas. The cost, when completed in 1991, will be about $120 million. A group of Japanese investors have agreed to help Orlando, Fla. developer Bob Snow finance a $130 million dining and entertainment complex known as Winchester Station. Snow is seeking a new site for the project because some landowners in downtown Las Vegas balked at selling their property. Japanese businessman Katsuki Manabe, who owns more than 30 arcades in Tokyo, has invested $30 million in the Park Hotel in downtown Las Vegas and millions more in his Nevada-based Sigma Games, a gaming equipment maker. Millionaire Ginji Yasuda has invested more than $120 million in the Aladdin Hotel. The move by the Japanese into the sophisticated gaming industry has not been smooth. Yasuda, a high-rolling gambler before he bought the Aladdin, has experienced financial problems at the resort in recent months, forcing him to dig for sources to pay back taxes and some suppliers. However, one top Nevada gaming source, who asked not to be identified, said Yasuda's license was up for reconsideration earlier this year and would not have been continued ``if he had not been able to meet his gaming obligations.'' The same source said the Japanese had taken over depressed properties and kept them open ``and any stride forward is a positive sign.'' The Dunes and Aladdin had been operating under bankruptcy protection for years before they were purchased by Nangaku and Yasuda. The Park, the former Holiday Inn downtown, had been closed for five years before it was refurbished and opened by Manabe. Mike Rumbolz, former Gaming Control Board chairman who now heads Donald Trump's efforts to enter Nevada gaming, said the Japanese were hampered because they bought distressed properties that couldn't make it under American expertise. Sukeaki Izumi, who owns five hotels in Japan and Guam, recently purchased another closed property, the former Treasury Hotel, which he has renamed the San Remo. Izumi, who looked at properties in Hawaii but opted for Las Vegas because of the lower costs, has committed $30 million for the purchase and renovation of the hotel. Don Woodsmall, who serves with Morichika as project manager of the Cosmo World project, said Las Vegas was picked by the Japanese company, in part, ``because the housing market is so strong here.'' Representatives of the company began looking for land in late 1987 and selected a site 10 minutes south of the Las Vegas Strip. Work on the Cosmo World project is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 1990. Several major hotel chains have expressed an interest in running the resort, Morichika said. Izumi, a millionaire industrialist, became involved in the hotel business six years ago when he bought a property in Osaka. He switched his focus here, he said, because the city was smaller, the cost of living was lower, real estate prices were more attractive, and he liked the way of life. Izumi moved to Las Vegas in December and plans to run the San Remo personally. The 324-room European-style property is scheduled to reopen July 1. Izumi has plans for a $30 million 16-story, 340-room tower next year, followed by a second tower and expansion of the casino. When Nangaku bought the Dunes Hotel two years ago, his attorney predicted other Japanese businessmen would follow. They did. ``This area is very attractive to the Japanese businessman,'' Izumi said. ``There is no other city like Las Vegas in the world.''
Japanese investors and tourists are fueling an economic boom in Las Vegas , spending or committing over $ 800 million dollars . Yoshi Morichika is setting up a 1,270 acre golf and casino resort community for Japanese recreation and electronics giant New World in nearby Henderson at a cost of $ 200 million . Japanese businessman Ken Manabe has invested $ 30 million in the Park Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas and many more in his Nevada - based Sigma Corporation , which makes gaming equipment . However , some Japanese investors are running into financial difficulty with their investments and failing properties such as the Dunes and the Aladdin hotels .