Japan Press Weekly

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2018 July 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

JCP Daimon grills pro-casino forces regarding political funds obtained from US major casino operator

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Daimon Mikishi on July 12 at a House of Councilors Cabinet Committee meeting grilled Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Nishimura Yasutoshi regarding a magazine article that states he received funds from a U.S. major casino operator.

At the Upper House committee meeting, in response to a question made by JCP Daimon, Nishimura admitted to the sale of fundraising party tickets to the U.S. casino operator.

Daimon pointed out, “The casino bill was drawn up on the basis of the lawmaker-initiated casino promotion law. However, an allegation surfaced that several initiators of the law accepted money from a specific casino operator.” He urged that Nishimura, pro-casino parliamentarians’ league chair Hosoda Hiroyuki (Liberal Democratic Party General Council Chair), and lawmakers’ group secretary general Iwaya Takeshi (LDP member of the House of Representatives) be summoned as unsworn witnesses before the Diet. He also demanded investigations regarding political funding and the purchase of party tickets by casino-related businesses over the past five years.

Committee Chair Tsuge Yoshihumi in reply promised to discuss Daimon’s demands at a committee directors’ meeting.

The July 12, 2018 issue of the popular weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun, one of Japan’s major weekly magazines, revealed that U.S. leading casino operator Caesars Entertainment provided Nishimura and other executives of a pro-casino parliamentarians’ league with political funds with the purchase of fundraising party tickets.

Among them was Iwaya Takeshi. He received 740,000 yen from Caesars Entertainment, according to the Bunshun magazine. Hosoda and Nishimura accepted 40,000 yen and 20,000 yen in political funds, respectively.

The casino bill under discussion at the Upper House Cabinet Committee is designed to set rules in regard to the operation of casino facilities in accordance with the lawmaker-initiated law legalizing casino gambling which was enacted in 2016. The law initiators included Nishimura, Hosoda, and Iwaya.

Past related articles:
> LDP decides to discuss casino bill instead of support measures for heavy rainfall victims [ July 10, 2018]
> Casino implementation bill sent to Upper House [June 20, 2018]