Japan: IR bill gets further delayed

The casino industry will arrive in Japan but will be later than sooner after the IR implementation bill is delayed again.

Japain.- Despite the timetable having March marked as the month when the integrated resorts (IR) implementation bill would be submitted, debate on the subject has been further delayed. Last Thursday, both ruling coalition parties held the first official meeting of their joint IR working team but failed to make progress on scheduling a date for the bill to be debated this month.

The Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party will work under the chairmanship of former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida but, according to lawmaker Takeshi Iwaya (one of the proponents of IRs), it was “impossible” for the cabinet to submit the legislation this month. Mr Iwaya said that it would have to wait until April “or even further”.

The scenario is far from ideal for pro-IR lawmakers and casino companies as the regular Diet session will end on June 20th. In case the bill’s debate continues to get postponed, the deadline will keep getting closer and casino advocates are afraid they might not be able to make the debate happen before.