{"id":777028276,"date":"2025-06-25T10:22:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777028276"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:33:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:33:50","slug":"toshiyuki-shimada-named-secretary-general-of-japan-casino-regulatory-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/toshiyuki-shimada-named-secretary-general-of-japan-casino-regulatory-commission","title":{"rendered":"Toshiyuki Shimada named secretary-general of Japan Casino Regulatory Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Shimada will replace Takuya Sakaguchi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Japan.- The national government has announced the appointment of Toshiyuki Shimada as secretary-general of the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission (JCRC), effective from July 1. He will replace Takuya Sakaguchi, who finishes his two-year tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shimada has served as a deputy secretary-general of the commission. He previously worked for Japan’s Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In December, the Japanese parliament approved three appointments to the JCRC<\/a>. Takafumi Sato, the superintendent prosecutor of the Takamatsu High Public Prosecutors Office, was named the new chair of the commission, replacing Michio Kitamura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Junichi Kakimizu, a former head of the National Tax College joined the commission, and the psychiatrist Michiko Watari was reappointed after serving since the commission\u2019s start in 2020. Their terms run for five years from January 7. Hiroyuki Ujikane, a former head of the Nagoya Regional Taxation Bureau, stepped down having served one term. Two other members remained on the body: Hirofumi Kitamura and Keiko Ishikawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament, recently approved a bill to amend the Basic Law for Countermeasures against Gambling Addiction to ban promoting online casinos<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bill, passed by the House of Representatives earlier in June, is expected to be promulgated by the end of this month and will come into effect three months later. The new legislation bans banner ads, ranking and recommendation sites and posts on social media that promote online casinos. It also requires authorities to raise awareness of the illegality of online casinos.<\/p>\n\n\nJapan passes bill to ban online casino ads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n