Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited is hoping Japan’s pending immigration legislation will facilitate the bringing in of workers for prospective integrated resorts (IRs) in the country.

The Hong Kong-based company will need from 10,000 to 20,000 employees in the event that it is chosen as an awardee of up to three licenses the Japanese government will issue for the construction and operation of casino resorts, as legislated last July.

Melco CEO Lawrence Ho, in an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, noted that with the operator’s casinos in Macau and Manila, it had also required “foreign expertise,” and this is where Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s labor reform package would help. As part of the legislation, employment will be opened to 14 industries, among these construction, hotels, and restaurants.

Ho clarified that eventually, “the bulk of employees will be Japanese… But at the same time it is unrealistic to say so from the beginning, as the industry does not still exist in Japan.”