Japan Press Weekly

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2016 November 30 - December 6 [POLITICS]

LDP and Komei together with Ishin forcibly begin discussing bill to legalize casinos

Discussions on a bill to legalize casinos was suddenly initiated at a House of Representatives Cabinet Committee meeting on the day immediately following the day when the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties used their majority force to prolong the current extraordinary Diet session which was to be closed on November 30.

LDP Dietmember Takeshita Wataru, who is in charge of dealing with Diet affairs in the party, expressed his determination to “work to have the bill enacted” during the additional two-week session of the Diet.

Knowing that only the ruling LDP-Komei coalition and the opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai party agreed to start Diet deliberations on the bill, the Cabinet Committee chair (LDP) unilaterally convened the committee on his authority.

In the Cabinet Committee meeting, a lawmaker of the Ishin party which stands with the LDP said to the committee chair, “I really thank you for your decision to begin discussions on the casino bill.” The Nippon Ishin led by the Osaka governor is trying to invite integrated resort (IR) businesses, which include gambling operators, to Osaka.

Meanwhile in the same meeting, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Shimazu Yukihiro strongly protested against the LDP and its allies, and said, “Pro-casino forces are highlighting the positive economic effects of casinos will have, but failed to mention negative impacts such as gambling addiction.”

Citing the case of Atlantic City in the U.S., where large scale integrated resorts have been closed down one after another, Shimazu said, “The IR business centering on the casino industry is moving into a decline. From the viewpoint of economics, it is unacceptable to promote gambling businesses as part of the nation’s economic policy.”

Later on the same day, JCP Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji held a press conference at the Diet building and stated that the JCP will work hard to abolish the casino legalization bill.

Kokuta noted that in an opinion poll that Yomiuri Shimbun conducted in Osaka in mid-November, 52% of the respondents said that no casino should be constructed in Osaka while 33% supported casino construction. Most of the general public stands in opposition to deregulation of casino operations.

Kokuta pointed out that casino gambling has a highly addictive nature in addition to the danger of bringing the presence of criminal organizations and a deterioration in morals in amusement areas. Kokuta objected to the lifting of bans on such a problematic activity.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations on this day issued a statement demanding the withdrawal of the bill. The JFBA is voicing its opposition to decriminalizing casinos on the grounds that they will provoke crimes, such as money laundering, and will drive people into addiction and multiple debts.

Past related articles:
> Lawyers’ association calls for scrapping bill to legalize casinos [November 11, 2016]
> Japan bar association holds rally to oppose legalization of casinos [March 4, 2015]
> Legalization of casinos will increase rate of gambling addiction in Japan [August 25, 2014]