A Lower House panel in Japan’s Diet passed earlier today the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill despite heavy protests from opposition parties, local news outlet the Japan Times reports.
The piece now needs approval from the full Lower House floor before being referred to the Diet’s Upper House. Lawmakers have up until June 20 to vote through the bill before the end of this year’s regular session.
However, according to reports from various local news outlets, the ruling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe-led Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito might be planning to extend the session by several weeks to provide enough time for the legislation’s eventual enactment.
LDP General Council Chairman Wataru Takeshita said today at a press conference following the affirmative vote that they would look to secure a formal approval from the Lower House early next week. The piece will then be placed before Upper House lawmakers for just as swift passage.
The IR Implementation Bill is the second piece of legislation of the two-phase process for the legalization of casino gambling within integrated resorts. The first bill, the Integrated Resort Promotional Bill, was adopted by the Japanese Diet in the winter of 2016 to formally legalize casino gambling in the country.
Another Wave of Protests
The Friday vote on the bill was accompanied by heavy objections to the piece from opposition parties. Members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Democratic Party once again voiced concerns that too little time has been spent by legislators to pay due attention to different issues related to the opening casinos in the country, including the potential increase of gambling addiction rates at a time when Japan is struggling with many residents’ obsession with pachinko gaming.
Opposition members once again cited surveys from recent years, according to which casino facilities would be more popular with Japanese residents and less so with international visitors.
The ruling parties have long promoted the legalization of casino gambling and the establishment of integrated resorts that would be home to the nation’s casinos as a potential driver of the future growth of Japan’s tourism industry.
Aside from key details and requirements about the future construction of integrated resorts in the country, the IR Implementation Bill also contains responsible gambling rules and measures. Under these rules, casinos will represent only 3% of the total floor of the larger resorts. In addition, residents of the country will be allowed only 10 casino visits per month and will be required to pay an entry fee in order to be admitted to the gaming floor.
According to preliminary forecasts, three integrated resorts with gaming floors could annually generate gambling revenue of between $10 billion and $25 billion, which would place Japan among the world’s largest casino hubs. However, opposition members have repeatedly pointed out that a strategy that bases growth on gambling “is wrong and outdated.”
Another issue raised by the opposition both on previous occasions and ahead of today’s vote stemmed from a provision in the Implementation Bill under which a casino regulation committee will be established to oversee the nation’s gaming industry. The provision further reads that employees of casino operators themselves could be part of that committee. However, opposition members questioned the impartiality of a regulatory body that is comprised of industry stakeholders.
