Opposition increases to Japan’s integrated resorts plans

Political parties opposed to integrated resorts have held a meeting to decide campaign actions.

Japan.- Japan’s Constitutional Democratic Party has held an inaugural meeting of the Casino Problem Countermeasures HQ and confirmed it will campaign against the various integrated resort bids currently being prepared in several areas of the country.

Japan’s central government plans to authorise three intergrated resorts licences. Regions that want to compete for one of the licences will lodge their bids this year.

Yukio Edano, head of the Casino Problem Countermeasures HQ, criticised Yokohama City’s decision to reject public calls for a referendum on its intended bid to host an IR.

Edano said: “The mayor and the council are acting as if they might ignore this. Representative democracy is not a carte blanche mandate.”

Yokohama mayor Fumiko Hayashi said the referendum “would be pointless” and that “representative democracy is functioning soundly.”

The Constitutional Party’s website has called for a nationwide movement against the IR bids, demanding referendums be held.