On Thursday afternoon, the ruling coalition in Japan – the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito – managed to pass a casino resort bill through the Cabinet Committee of the House of Councillors, Jiji Press reports.
The Government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now determined to have the long-awaited bill finally enacted at the upper house session on Friday, in order to have the proposed piece of legislation passed until the end of the session which has already been prolonged. The current Diet session was first due to close on June 20th, but the Government decided to take more time to discuss the controversial measure.
Meanwhile, the major opposition parties have prepared a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Abe as part of their efforts to prevent the enactment of the bill, which was greenlighted by the House of Representatives earlier this year. According to media reports, the opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against the President of the Upper House Chuichi Date at a meeting of the committee on Thursday, criticising him for his support for the ruling coalition’s efforts to enact the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill instead of giving priority to other matters, such as the fatal consequences from the torrential rain which hit Western Japan earlier this month.
The motion, however, was unsuccessful after being voted down at a plenary meeting of the upper chamber. Later, the ruling coalition once again opened the committee session to put the casino resorts bill to a vote.
Casino Expansion Seeks to Attract More Tourists to Japan
The measure which is seeking the approval of the upper chamber is called Integration Resorts Implementation Bill. In case that it is given the nod, it is to finally open the Japanese casino market, greenlighting the establishment of three casinos which are to be built as part of the so-called integrated resorts across the country.
The administration of the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shared its hope that the opening of the casino gambling sector will help the country become more attractive to foreign tourists, which on the other hand could boost the country’s economy.
However, the proposed casino gambling bill has brought a lot of controversies, as anti-gambling campaigners have shared their concern for the possible influence which the gambling expansion could have on local citizens. According to the opponents of the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill’s opponents, casino gambling expansion could immensely boost the number of gambling addicts in the country, as they believe that the new additions to the existing gambling landscape could seriously affect the problem gambling rates in Japan.
The Japanese legislators, on the other hand, have rolled out a number of measures aimed at tackling the possible harm of casinos to local people. As part of the efforts to prevent gambling addiction, the Government has made sure that some restrictions are to be implemented. Local casino visitors would be required to pay an entrance fee amounting to ¥6,000 per visit, while foreign customers would be able to enter Japanese casinos for free. In addition, local players would have the right to enter casinos up to three times a week or 10 times a month.
- Author
Daniel Williams
