Japantown to rise in Bacolod east township
BACOLOD CITY – A Japantown will soon rise on a three-hectare site inside the 34-hectare The Upper East township of Megaworld Corp. in this city.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan, who is an adopted son and honorary mayor of Bacolod, informed him that the design perspectives are being finalized.
“You wouldn’t need to go to Japan, just go to The Upper East here and you will feel you’re already in Japan,” Benitez said.
“We will get establishments from Japan to co-locate in our Japan Town. This is in coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Japan headed by Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano,” he said.
Benitez, who joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his recent state visit to Japan, said he has designated councilor Jason Villarosa to communicate with the Philippine Embassy based in Tokyo in coordinating the visit of possible Japanese locators.
“One of the companies would like to collaborate for a heritage or cultural monument in the planned Japan Town,” he added.
Moreover, Benitez said his trip to Japan was “very fruitful” as he met potential investors in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.
“There is no specific contract that we are looking at but we would like to present ourselves for the possibility of future projects in Bacolod City,” he added.
In terms of tourism, Benitez said he wants Bacolod to focus on food tourism to attract Japanese visitors as well.
“From renewable energy to infrastructure to tourism, which are exactly what we set to secure from our Japan trip. There is a very good lead that we have received from our counterparts there,” he added. Philippine News Agency
