Demand to Reverse legalisation on Casinos in Japan Amidst Bribery Scandal

A demand for the reversal of laws legalising casinos throughs the future of the industry in Japan into question following an escalating bribery scandal in the country.

Executives of the main opposition party agreed yesterday to jointly submit legislation which would abolish the 2016 Integrate Resorts Promotion Act reversing national policy of moving towards pro-gambling.

The legislation was introduced by the current Abe administration despite fierce opposition from opposition parties with the intention of boosting tourism in Japan to keep up with other international gambling destinations.

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan executive, Jun Azumi, said the basic question of whether Japan should have casinos at all, should be asked.

The recent 500 Dot Com bribery scandal has added renewed fuel to the opposition’s arguments against legalising casinos.

So far this week it has been revealed that six lawmakers accepted cash bribes from the Chinese Lottery company although five of the six maintain their innocence.

One of the most prominent pro-IR lawmakers Takeshi Iwaya and Tsukasa Akimoto, formerly in charge of IR policymaking for the Cabinet Office are among the accused.

On Monday, Mikio Shimoji admitted that his office received 1 million yet for the 2017 election campaign from the Chinese company in October 2017. He resigned from the party on Tuesday.

Masahiko Konno, a former adviser to a Chinese gambling is also suspected to have brought more than 20 million yen ($207,000) in cash into Japan in violation of the foreign exchange law.

Masahiko Konno also allegedly gave 3 million yen to lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto, a former member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who was arrested in December on suspicion of receiving 3.7 million yen in bribes from the Shenzhen-based 500.com Ltd.

The political funds control law prohibits political donations from foreigners or foreign organizations.

Japan recently legalized casinos, with the government planning to choose up to three locations for what it calls “integrated resorts” — complexes that include casinos along with hotels and conference facilities.

The Abe government has so far indicated that it intends to bulldoze through the opposition, as it has done before, and is even maintaining that the 500 Dot Com bribery case has no particular relevance to IR policy.

As a result of the escalating bribery scandal, the national government announced the establishment of an independent casino control commission to license and regulate the sector which will meet for the first time tomorrow.

The commission’s first task will be to define a set of regulations on how it will operate and to clarify details around Japan’s regulatory framework for the future casino market.