March 15, 2013
Tokyo Governor Inose Naoki on March 13 said that he will urge the national government to liberalize casino gambling.
This remark was made in reply to a question made by a Liberal Democratic Party representative at a meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly special committee on the budget.
LDP assemblyperson Nakaya Fumitaka said to the governor, “Casino gambling is one of the major tourism resources of revenue. As a political party in the Tokyo assembly, we will lobby the central government and make efforts to create a legal system for casino liberalization.”
Inose in reply said, “It is strange for Japan to have no casino resorts.” Citing that he requested the state to liberalize casino gambling when he was a member of a governmental panel on tax reform in 2001, Inose called on assembly members aside from the Japanese Communist Party to push Diet members to decriminalize casino gambling.
To open a casino in Tokyo was one of Inose’s predecessor Ishihara Shintaro’s ambitions. Ishihara, however, failed to achieve this ambition.
It is pointed out that casino gambling creates a host of social problems, including addiction to gambling, harmful effects on younger generations, and involvement of organized-crime syndicates.
In October 2002, when Ishihara held a casino promotion event at the Tokyo government office building, groups of concerned consumers and women voiced criticism, and the JCP assembly members group demanded the cancellation of the event.
This remark was made in reply to a question made by a Liberal Democratic Party representative at a meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly special committee on the budget.
LDP assemblyperson Nakaya Fumitaka said to the governor, “Casino gambling is one of the major tourism resources of revenue. As a political party in the Tokyo assembly, we will lobby the central government and make efforts to create a legal system for casino liberalization.”
Inose in reply said, “It is strange for Japan to have no casino resorts.” Citing that he requested the state to liberalize casino gambling when he was a member of a governmental panel on tax reform in 2001, Inose called on assembly members aside from the Japanese Communist Party to push Diet members to decriminalize casino gambling.
To open a casino in Tokyo was one of Inose’s predecessor Ishihara Shintaro’s ambitions. Ishihara, however, failed to achieve this ambition.
It is pointed out that casino gambling creates a host of social problems, including addiction to gambling, harmful effects on younger generations, and involvement of organized-crime syndicates.
In October 2002, when Ishihara held a casino promotion event at the Tokyo government office building, groups of concerned consumers and women voiced criticism, and the JCP assembly members group demanded the cancellation of the event.
