Takafumi Sato named chair of Japan Casino Regulatory Commission
Another new member has been appointed to the Japanese casino regulator.
Japan.- The Japanese parliament has approved three appointments to the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission. Takafumi Sato, currently the superintendent prosecutor of the Takamatsu High Public Prosecutors Office, will be the new chair of the commission, replacing Michio Kitamura.
Meanwhile, Junichi Kakimizu, a former head of the National Tax College is to join the commission, and the psychiatrist Michiko Watari has been reappointed after serving since the commission’s start in 2020. Their terms will run for five years from January 7, 2025.
Hiroyuki Ujikane, a former head of the Nagoya Regional Taxation Bureau, is stepping down having served one term. Two other members remain on the body: Hirofumi Kitamura and Keiko Ishikawa.
The appointments were confirmed along with in a plenary session of the House of Representatives yesterday (December 17, where a vote was held on proposals to appoint 16 people to six government bodies.
Osaka has been approved to host Japan’s first casino resort. The project on Yumeshima Island is backed by a consortium that includes MGM Resorts International and Orix. Completion is expected for 2030.
Japan sends delegation to Australia to study NSW casino framework
On December 4, Hiroyuki Ujikane, Michiko Watari, and Keiko Ishikawa met with New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) chief commissioners Philip Crawford and Stephen Parbery. They later toured Crown Sydney’s members-only facility.
Crawford said Japan has the advantage of being able to learn from other jurisdictions. “Japan is in the midst of setting up their regulatory structure, so the functions are in place well in advance of the casino opening,” Crawford said.
The Japanese Casino Regulatory Commission was created in 2020, four years after the government passed legislation to allow for three integrated resort licences. It has around 150 staff and is focused on preparing a framework covering areas such as integrity, compliance, enforcement, licensing, and intelligence.
